


the world on our shoulders

by jennycaakes



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Hunger Games-Typical Death/Violence, Madge's Brother, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-06
Updated: 2015-01-15
Packaged: 2018-03-06 06:58:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 25,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3125249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennycaakes/pseuds/jennycaakes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Madge Undersee has a brother, and it makes all the difference.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Someone requested Madge having a brother AU a long time ago (only he died in THG) so I wrote that, but then I couldn't get the idea out of my head -- thus this series was born! The chapters will be relatively short and the gadge will be there eventually, but it also will focus a lot on the friendship between Gale and Fitz (because I can't get enough of it. Also I'm possibly in love with him) and how it could potentially change things. Just a bit of fun. Hope you enjoy!

Out of all of the people to approach Gale in the middle of the cafeteria, he never expected it to be the mayor’s kid.

Fitzgerald Undersee was exactly one year eleven months and six days older than his younger sister Madge. He had a crown of curly blonde hair and blue eyes full of mischief. He stood tall at six feet even and his teeth were so white Gale was pretty sure they had cleaners come in from the Capitol to make him shine, considering Fitz would be training to be the next mayor of 12 in just a few short years.

_Perfect mayor’s kid_. Everyone thought it at first glance. He and his sister were like royalty in District 12, both attractive and both rich and both with enough meat on them to be jealous of. Now Madge, she kept to herself. She was bright eyed and full of laughter around her brother, but almost everyone else she shut out. Fitz, though, was overflowing with life.

Fifteen years old sitting at the lunch table with his friend Thom, Gale picked through his food and muttered something under his breath about how he wished he could keep his trades for himself, when all of a sudden Fitz dropped down in the seat across from him.

“Gale Hawthorne,” he said, his voice full of that sappy sweetness they would crank out for the television programs. He leaned toward him like they were old friends that hadn’t spoken in some time.

Gale eyed Thom once before looking back at the boy across from him. “Fitzgerald Undersee,” he murmured back. “You want something?”

“I do, actually,” he nodded. “And I’m fairly certain you’re the only one that can help me.” Gale set his jaw like his father had when he was angry and kept his gaze steady. “I know that strawberries are in season,” Fitz said to him. “My little sister, her birthday’s coming up. The stores aren’t selling strawberries because they’re in higher demand in other parts of the country.” Fitz squared his shoulders and tilted his chin back slightly. “Do you know where I could find any?”

Gale sucked his teeth and looked at his sandwich. “Nah,” he lied.

“That’s a damn shame,” Fitz responded. “Went by the bakery the other day and they were selling blueberry muffins,” he shrugged. “Asked Taftan, you know, the oldest one. A year above us? Said his dad knew a couple of kids that could get their hands on some fresh fruit. Off the books.” Still, Fitz kept his seat. For a fifteen year old he certainly knew how to get what he wanted. He drummed his fingers over the table. “I’ll pay you double than the baker does.”

“I don’t know where to get you any strawberries,” Gale muttered.

“Triple,” Fitz said, no waver to his voice. “Three gold pieces for a basket. Or six, if you bring your friend. Three each.” Gale returned his eyes to the boy across from him. “We could make it a regular thing if you’re interested.” Thom elbowed Gale very hard in the side and made a face at him  _agree to it_   _you fucking idiot!_

“What’s the catch?” Gale asked.

“Why’s there gotta be a catch?” Fitz shot back. “It’s my sister’s birthday. I want to get her something she likes.” He smiled, and Gale immediately knew that he’d lost this fight. “I’ll even provide the basket,” he said, swinging his arm from behind his back and dropping a basket on the table in front of them. Gale reached out and pulled the woven basket into his hands. “See you Sunday,” Fitz said, nodding his head at Gale before pushing himself to his feet and walking away.


	2. Chapter 2

Katniss was _pissed_ when he told her. They’d only been hunting partners for about a year and she was only thirteen, the idea of selling to the mayor was absolutely terrifying.

“We’re not selling to the mayor,” Gale tried again, trying to squash his own nerves about the whole situation. There were so many things that could go wrong, he knew that. He just didn’t want to think about what a whipping would feel like. “We’re selling to his kid.”

“What if the mayor finds out and reports us?” Katniss asked. “What if he turns the fence back on? What if—”

“What if it all works out and we’re three gold pieces richer?” Gale cut her off. “You could buy Prim that roll of yarn she’s been asking about.” They were standing at the strawberry bush, loading the basket carefully making sure to put the less than perfect berries toward the bottom. “You’re friends with the girl, Maple or whatever.”

“Madge,” she corrected with a scowl.

“I think the odds might be in our favor this time,” Gale went on. “We’ll do it this once. See if it works out. Maybe again in a week or two if it’s worth it.” Katniss wrinkled her nose and continued her work. “We can still trade with the baker, too, just not at much. He’s a good guy and he’ll want our business for his stuff.”

Katniss didn’t say anything back. They filled the basket Fitz gave Gale all the way to the top and then a smaller one for the baker. After finishing up their morning in the woods Gale and Katniss went straight to the mayor’s house.

“You’re doing the talking,” Katniss muttered. They marched through the back gate and up the stairs of the porch before getting to the door. The two of them could hear piano music streaming through the windows and Gale knocked on the back door, listening to it cut off immediately. “That’s Madge,” Katniss whispered.

After a few seconds the door flew open, and like Katniss predicted it was the mayor’s daughter on the other side. Her hair was tied up in an elaborate bun, curly strands fell and framed her face, and her eyebrows collided in confusion.

“Hi,” she exhaled, standing a little straighter. Her eyes darted between Katniss and Gale. “Hi, Katniss,” she tried again.

Katniss smiled politely and Gale cleared his throat awkwardly. “Is your brother here?”

Her face drained of the little color it had and her lips parted. “What’d Fitz do now?” she asked. “He’s not in trouble, is he?”

“Uh—”

“Madge!” Fitz hollered from inside. There were quick footsteps and then a freshly bathed Fitz at the door, his hair still wet and drying from what Gale thought to have been a shower. He grinned at the two of them. “Hawthorne!” he cheered. “You came through.” He turned to his sister. “Scram,” he shooed her like a cat. Madge frowned at him and rolled her eyes before looking at Katniss.

“See you in class tomorrow,” Madge said to her friend, and Katniss nodded.

Once Fitz was sure she was gone he stepped outside, pulling the door shut behind him. “As promised,” he said, pulling out six gold coins. Gale could feel his mouth water. The things he’d be able to do with three gold coins were incredible. “This is perfect,” Fitz grinned as he studied the basket Katniss handed him. “You guys are great, thank you so much for this. Madge’ll love ‘em.”

“They’re for Madge?” Katniss questioned.

“Absolutely,” Fitz nodded. He fidgeted with the door handle. “I’ll have to get Bernard to hide them from her until birthday Tuesday.” He grinned again. “Thanks again,” he said.

“It wasn’t a problem,” Gale murmured back. He pocketed his coins and grabbed Katniss’s shoulder, guiding her away from the door. Fitz waved another time before slipping inside and Gale finally let out the breath he’d been holding in. “See?” he nudged her. “Wasn’t so bad.”

“I thought he’d be different,” Katniss said, wrinkling her nose. She turned to Gale. “I never thought we’d be doing business with the _mayor’s_ family. You don’t even like the Undersees.”

Gale shrugged. “Don’t have to like someone to do business with them,” he told her.

**

Inside, after putting the strawberries away, Fitz went into the sitting room where Madge was playing the piano. She stopped the second he walked in and frowned at him. “Are you making trades?” she asked immediately. Fitz waggled his eyebrows but she shook her head. “You know how dangerous that is, Fitz,” she scolded him.

He dropped onto the bench beside her. “Dad’s only told us like a thousand times,” he agreed.

“Then why are you doing it?” she asked. “Katniss is my friend. If we get in trouble then _they’d_ get in trouble, and it’s hard enough getting people to like us as it is.”

“Ah, speak for yourself,” he joked. Her frown deepened and Fitz laughed. “If anything,” he tried, “we’re _helping_ them. They get us what we want, we pay them.”

“It’s like telling them it’s okay to break the law,” she said quietly.

He shook his head at her, the humor draining from his face rapidly. “They break the law because they’ve got to, Madge,” he said. “We’ve got more money than we know what to do with. They’ve got to skip meals because they don’t have enough food.” Madge kept her eyes steady on the piano. “Just because the Capitol says it’s wrong, doesn’t mean it’s wrong,” Fitz whispers. “Remember? We talked about this.”

At such a young age Madge struggled with this concept. But she trusted Fitz more than anyone in the world, and if he said it then it had to be true. She nodded carefully. “I just don’t want them to get caught,” she whispered back. “They could be _killed_.”

“They could die from starvation,” he reminded her. “Or a whole lot of things without money to pay for medicine.” Again, she nodded, but kept her eyes on the black keys of her piano. “We’re not any better than them because we got dealt a better hand, Madge.”

“I don’t think that,” she bit out. _They certainly do, though_ , she thought. Maybe not Katniss, but Gale probably did, as did plenty of other people in the district. It’s why Madge received funny looks in class whenever she raised her hand to answer a question, it’s why she always got picked last for the teams in gym class. Fitz always told her not to care about those things, but it always hurt. He had always been stronger than she was. “Just don’t get caught,” she finally muttered, shoving herself away from the piano. As she reached the stairs to go up to her room she heard the tinkle of the piano, Fitz playing in her place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in this chapter Madge is still pretty young, and she doesn't know as much about their conditions as most Madge's do in people stories. Fitz is a guiding hand, trying to explain things to her. And she gets on board sooner or later. Gadge is to come! It just takes a little bit of time.


	3. Chapter 3

Fitz Undersee was not an everyday friend. There were times in which Gale could go weeks without seeing that stupid mop of blonde hair and stupid shit-eating grin. But he _was_ consistent. He would greet Gale as though they were friendly. Sometimes they would talk about more than trades. And eventually, Gale sort of saw him as a friend. Maybe just an ally, actually, because friend seemed much too close.

“Jesus Christ, Hawthorne,” Fitz muttered one day, looking over Gale’s shoulder. “You didn’t do _any_ of your homework?”

Gale shrugged. “No point. I know where I’m going.”

“So do I,” Fitz retorted, “but failing _history_ certainly doesn’t make me feel _good_ about myself.” Gale shrugged again. At sixteen he had plenty of things to worry about that didn’t include a summation of the past Hunger Games. “Mr. Albright’ll keep you during free period to clap erasers if you stop doing work,” Fitz told him. Gale rolled his eyes. “Just copy mine, alright?”

Gale spun around in his chair to look at Fitz, his eyebrows heavy against one another. “Are you _kidding_?” Gale scoffed. “No. Absolutely not.” Fitz didn’t even flinch, he just held Gale’s gaze. There weren’t many people that did that. “You know what? Fuck you.”

“I’m just trying to help,” Fitz said back, no malice in his voice. “But if you _want_ to ingest enough chalk to cough up full piece of the shit, be my guest.” He kept his eyes locked with Gale’s until Gale finally turned in his chair, back to face the front. Mr. Albright made him clap erasers that day. Fitz dipped his head into the classroom before leaving for his own free period. “Told you so,” he hummed.

“Told you so,” Gale mimicked, his voice high and squeaky like Rory’s now that the kid was going through puberty. Fitz laughed and ducked out, leaving Gale in a cloud of chalk.

**

At sixteen years old Gale couldn’t say that he _hated_ the Undersees. Madge had gotten a lot prettier, he noticed one day. Freckles bloomed across her cheeks she had a smile that made his stomach feel warm. And Fitz was, well, Fitz. Incapable of having people hate him.

With Fitz it started out as a match that needed to be kept even. Gale would do something, so Fitz would do something back, and then Gale again, and then Fitz, and it was a cycle of the two of them owing one another.

“Just give up and admit you enjoy my presence, Hawthorne,” Fitz laughed one day when they were on the same team for gym class.

“I’m _really_ just in this for the money,” Gale shot back. They didn’t sit at the same lunch table but they did have classes together, and they did have the same sense of humor, so it was inevitable their trades led to a friendship of sorts.  _Allies_ , Gale had to remind himself. He couldn't be friends with any of the Undersees. They just didn't run in the same crowd.

Gale _really_ started to respect Fitz one day though during history when his hand shot straight up in the air and he asked, without any hesitation, “Why don’t we learn about the Dark Days?” The whole room fell silent and Gale knew Fitz was the only one who could ask this question without punishment. “They’re mentioned like, once, and then we move on. I want to know what happened. What battles were fought. It’s part of our history, don’t you think? Why don’t we learn about it?”

“Fitzgerald,” Mr. Albright’s voice was cold. “That’s enough of your mouth.”

“I’m just asking a question,” he responded. “We all know they happened. We know the results of them. Hell, we _live_ the results of them. I just want—”

“ _Office_ ,” the teacher snapped. “Now.” Fitz made a big show of putting his hands up in surrender and scooted from his seat, striding away without another word. Class continued on as normal, but for once Gale realized that maybe the Undersees weren't as blind as he thought.

**

Madge was in the library with Rory Hawthorne when Gale came in. His footsteps were heavy and Madge paused, tapping her pencil against the notebook she was creating problems for Rory on. “Pack your stuff,” Gale called to his brother. Every Thursday Madge would tutor Rory in math, though Gale didn’t really see the point to it. He and Madge never spoke much. But today, he felt he should. “Your brother got in a shit ton of trouble today,” Gale said.

Madge turned her head and cocked a golden eyebrow at him. “Fitz?”

“You got any other brothers?” Gale muttered.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “What’d he do?” Gale relayed the story to her in as little amount of words as he could (maybe he and Fitz were friends _(allies!)_ but he and Madge were _not_ ) and she sighed, lifting her hand to rub the bridge of her nose. “Dad’s gonna kill him,” she said, more to herself than to anyone else. With a deep breath she opened her eyes and looked at Rory. “Same time next week?”

“See you then,” Rory grinned. Ten years old and he was already in love with Madge Undersee, despite the fact that her family rolled in money and he barely had shoes that fit.

“Thanks,” Madge called as they left. Gale glanced over his shoulder at her and she smiled, a tiny smile that made his stomach flip (no, absolutely he was _not_ feeling _anything_ for Madge Undersee). “For letting me know,” she added.

He dipped his head and guided Rory from the library.

**

When Fitz found Madge later that day he swung his arm around her shoulder, but she pushed him away. “Do you want to be grounded for the rest of your life?” she asked him. He arched an eyebrow at her. “Your friend told me about what you did in history class.”

“Ah, which?”

“Gale,” she muttered. His eyes twinkled and she shot him a look. _Don’t even say it_.

“You must’ve _loved_ that,” he teased. Madge felt her cheeks get hot and Fitz grinned. “A whole conversation with _the_ Gale Hawthorne.” Madge pushed him away again, her entire body burning at this point. “Maybe one day he’ll stop taking girls to the slag heap and fall to his knees for _you_ , Madgey.”

“Stop,” she frowned. This wasn't about Gale, it was about Fitz being an idiot like usual. “He just told me about how you got sent to the office,” Madge told him, trying to change the subject. So maybe she had a thing for Gale Hawthorne. She wasn’t alone, half the district was in love with him in some way. He was tall and good looking and cared a lot about his family and the way he looked at her made her chest warm. She wasn’t expecting anything out of it. Madge was perfectly okay with crushing from afar. “Which is going to get you in _a lot_ of trouble, Fitz.”

“Dad’s probably not even going to find out,” he responded, swinging his arm around her shoulder again. “And even if he does, what’s he going to do, huh? Nothing.” Madge sighed loudly and he tugged her closer. “We’ve got power, Madge,” he told her quietly, glancing around as they walked toward their home. “More than you can imagine. We’ve just got to use it in the right way. That’s what I’m trying to do.” She sighed again and he lifted his hand, tugging on her curls. “I know what I’m doing.”

“I’m seriously concerned that you’ve been telling yourself that for so long that you actually believe it,” she responded. His grin was all the answer she needed.


	4. Chapter 4

“What’s your brother’s game?” Katniss asked. She and Madge had started sitting at lunch together. They didn’t talk much but just being by someone was nice. It beat sitting alone, and no one bothered them. “With Gale,” Katniss added.

“Honestly?” Madge asked. She wasn’t sure why Katniss was asking, considering as far as Madge understood Fitz and Gale had been friendly for a pretty long time at this point. Katniss looked up as though she was expecting some sort of ploy. “I think Fitz needs everyone in the world to like him or he’ll explode.” Katniss’s lips twitched into a smile. “Fitz doesn’t play games. He just… does whatever he wants.” Katniss laughed a little and Madge picked at her sandwich. “I think he considers Gale a friend," Madge said, though it was hard to admit. "He considers a lot of people his friend. Fitz drives me insane.”

“I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to have a brother,” Katniss told her. “I mean, I guess Gale’s pretty close to that.” Madge looked back up at her. “What?”

“Aren’t you and Gale, like, a thing?”

She narrowed her eyes. “What?” Madge looked back down at her sandwich, her cheeks hot. She wasn’t the only one who thought so. That’s why Gale taking so many girls to the slagheap was at least a _little bit_ confusing. “No, we’re just friends,” Katniss said, annunciating every word. “People think we’re a thing?” Madge shrugged and Katniss frowned. “We’re just friends,” she said again.

Before Madge could respond she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to find Peeta Mellark standing above her and smiling. He looked at Katniss and a blush formed on his cheeks and then Madge smiled, too, knowing just how Peeta felt about the girl across from her. “Hey,” he finally said.

“Hi Peeta.” She looked across the table. “You know Katniss,” she added.

“Yeah,” he exhaled. “Hi.” Katniss’s lips formed a tight smile and she looked away from him at once. “Right,” Peeta murmured. “Taftan wanted to know if you’d be coming by the bakery,” Peeta said, turning back to Madge. Suddenly Madge felt warm and Peeta smirked. “Said something about an order you placed a while back and never came to get?”

“Mm…” Madge lifted one of her hands to her cheeks. “Yeah. Okay, I’ll be there.” Peeta tipped his head. “See you later, then.” Peeta walked away and Madge let out a short breath, fiddling with her sandwich another time until she felt Katniss’s eyes. She looked up. “What?”

“Nothing,” Katniss said. They ate the rest of their lunch in silence.

**

“Are you kidding me?” Fitz asked, throwing his head back in a laugh. “Taftan Mellark. Seriously, Madge? He’s like, four years older than you!” Her sixteenth birthday was swiftly approaching, just a few days away now, and Taftan had just turned 19. She knew the age difference. “Mom would ex _plode_ if she knew.”

She kept her mouth shut as they walked toward the bakery. “You can go home, you know.”

“Absolutely not,” Fitz shook his head. “I want to see this crash and burn.”

“Taftan’s _nice_ , Fitz.”

“And you are _not into him at all_ , Madge.” She frowned, picking up her pace. “Come on, since when do you even _talk_ to the guy? Do you know _anything_ about him?”

“He’s tall and very good looking and especially kind,” Madge said. “He was number one on the wrestling team at school before he left classes and now he bakes mostly the pastries in their bakery.” She kept her eyes forward. “Taftan’s favorite color is red and he knows how to play the harmonica and I think it’s absolutely none of your business how often I talk to him or what we speak about.”

Fitz’s jaw dropped. “You’ve been sneaking out!”

“I have not.” Maybe she had. Madge started picking up their orders from the bakery instead of sending their butler Bernard to do it. And Taftan was always working at the time, though Madge had originally preferred Peeta. Taftan would be slow to get her orders, trying to have a small conversation with her in between. Over time it sort of, evolved. He was hesitant in flirting with her, almost shy, but Madge adored the pink to his cheeks and found herself  _asking_ Bernard if she could go to the bakery in his place. 

Again she picked up her pace but Fitz’s legs are longer and he catches up quickly. “ _Fitz_ ,” she groaned, stopping right outside the bakery.

“I thought you had a thing for Gale-y boy.”

Madge narrowed her eyes at him. “That was obviously going nowhere. Listen, I know you think you and him are friends and all but he doesn’t _care_ for people us. We’re too... _clean_ for him.”

“He doesn’t think that,” Fitz frowned, not liking the tone of her voice.

“You honestly believe he’s okay with us having the money we do?” Madge asked. “You’re kidding yourself. You two can be friendly all you want but you’re not _friends_.” She crossed her arms over her chest and started for the door of the bakery. His lips continued dipping into a frown. "Sorry, Fitz, but it's true.”

He let her go into the bakery without following, casting his eyes toward the Seam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Madge is kind of mean here... but she doesn't really have many friends and everyone loves Fitz a lot but she doesn't really believe that Gale does. Partly because she's a little upset Gale would never like her, and partly because he's Gale. Fitz does't really like how Madge goes about this.


	5. Chapter 5

Fitz was not one to be wrong.

He knew that he and Gale weren’t _best_ friends. Gale wasn’t on the wrestling team or the same math class and they certainly didn’t sit at the same lunch table. But they _were_ friends. And maybe Madge didn’t have a chance with Gale, but that didn’t mean he _hated_ her. Right?

Fitz had only been in the Seam a few times but he remembered where Gale lived and his feet carried him straight there. It took a bit of time but he found the small home and went straight for the door. The porch creaked under his feet but if it could hold Gale it could certainly hold him. After two knocks the door inched open, and a small girl stood in the doorway. She looked up at him with wide eyes and smiled.

“Hi,” she said quietly.

“Hi,” Fitz said back. “You must be Posy.” The girl nodded her head vehemently and he grinned. “You’re just like Gale described you,” he said. Posy giggled, hiding behind the door a little. “Is Gale here?” She nodded again and pulled the door open all the way, indicating for him to come in.

Hesitantly he stepped forward, into the small home. The ceiling wasn't too far away from his head and the walls were pretty thin, but it was rather spacious inside. At the tiny dining room table sat the youngest brother, Vick, and on the couch was Rory. If Gale was in one of the backrooms, maybe their mother was too. _Or she might be out_ , Fitz thought, remembering that she did laundry for some people in town.

“Hey, Fitz,” Rory smiled waving. “ _Gale_ ,” he called, lifting his voice slightly. There were three doors Fitz could see, though they barely fit in the frame.

Gale emerged from one quickly, looking exhausted. “Yeah?” he looked up, finding Fitz. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Posy rushed forward, grabbing Gale’s leg. “You didn’t tell me you were fw-ends with a p-wince,” she giggled, tugging on his pant leg. Gale’s eyes strayed from Fitz just for a second.

“Outside,” he murmured. Fitz turned around at once, exiting the house on Gale's command. Gale bent down to Posy and nudged her away. “Go pester Vick,” he told her quietly, and she scampered away to do so. Quickly he walked outside, finding Fitz in the middle of the street. “What’re you doing here?” Gale asked again.

“Wanted to stop by.”

“Since when have you ever just _stopped by_?” Gale asked, frowning. “Do you _want_ something?”

“What?” Fitz frowned too. “No. I just wanted to say hey.”

Still, Gale was frowning. “You walked all the way to the Seam to say _hey_?”  Gale squinted and then looked away awkwardly. “Alright.”

“Yeah, uh,” Fitz laughed, trying to diffuse the awkward. “Madge was trying to tell me how we’re not really friends. I didn’t think that was true. So I figured I’d come say hey. Like friends do.”

Gale thought this over for a moment before nodding once. “Alright.”

“We’re friends, yeah?”

Gale scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, Fitz.” But Fitz wasn’t moving, he stayed grounded in his place. "At school,” Gale added. Still, he stayed. “You really think we’ll be hanging out once I go to the mines and you go to your fancy job with the mayor?” Gale asked. He shook his head. “Probably not. But I mean, for now, sure.”

Fitz shook his head, too. “Why couldn’t we be?”

“Don’t you have plenty of other friends you don’t have to roll around in the coal dust to hang out with?” Gale asked. “Why’s it so important to you to be friends with someone like me?”

Fitz still shook his head. “That’s not—what? That isn’t the point, Hawthorne.” Gale shrugged his shoulders slightly, not really believing him.

“Listen, I respect you and all. You’re a good guy. But, uh,” Gale wrinkled his nose. “I’ve got, uh, homework to do,” he muttered, backing toward his house. “You should go home.” Gale walked inside without another word, leaving Fitz in the street with a scowl on his face.

**

“Hey Madge?” he asked. She paused her hands on the piano and looked over at her brother who was lying across the couch a few feet away. “How many people do you think actually like us? You know, for us?”

She sighed, turning to face him fully. He’d been in sort of a slump ever since Gale hadn’t confirmed their friendship. “I don’t know, Fitz.” He rubbed at his face. “I mean, Delly probably really likes us?”

“Pfft,” he laughed. “Delly likes _everyone_.” Madge smiled, but then quickly sighed. “I mean, Taftan probably likes you.” She felt her cheeks warm. “The Mellarks are genuine.”

“They are,” Madge agreed.

“What about the jeweler’s kid, you think he likes us?”

“I don’t know,” she said again. “I wish I did, Fitz, but I don’t.” He scrubbed at his face. “Why does it matter to you so much?” she asked him. “That people like you?”

He didn’t know how to explain it to her. No one liked the mayor. Absolutely no one. If he could befriend people before he became the mayor then maybe he really had a chance to make a difference. Fitz knew the conditions in the Seam were shit. If he could be friends with someone like Gale, someone who most teenagers in the Seam respected for being able to go into the woods and take care of his family, then maybe he could really change things.

“I want people to know that I want better things for our district,” Fitz finally told her. “For when I’m in charge. And that I mean it, not that I just want friends or want to make a difference, but because I _care_ about them.” Madge suddenly felt bad and looked down at her hands. All this time he’s been trying to get popular to gain… alliances? For when he became the mayor? She wondered if anyone really _did_ like her or Fitz.

“I’m sure _someone_ other than Delly likes us,” Madge insisted, smiling at him. Fitz smiled back. Maybe his heart was too big to be the next mayor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying the story! Fitz is a good guy at heart. He wants friends (because who wouldn't?) but not because they're from the Seam or from town or anything but because they're people and he really just cares about people in general.


	6. Chapter 6

Gale didn’t understand what Fitzgerald Undersee was trying to prove. In the past two weeks they’d hardly spoken, which Gale understood considering how easily he dismissed him the day he showed up in the Seam, but Fitz was starting to be around more often than not. Thom and Fitz were suddenly great buddies, sharing some gossip about some kids in a younger class. And Fitz got Bristel to put on her flirty face, something she most certainly didn’t use on town kids.

One night while Gale was home helping his mother with the laundry wondering where the _everloving fuck_ Rory was because it was _way_ past his curfew, the door burst open, and in strode Fitz with a beaten looking Rory hanging on his shoulder. Gale stood at once and Posy squeaked, hiding herself behind a throw pillow from the couch.

“Oh, God,” Hazelle stood and ran into a pile of her folded clothes, letting them topple over. “What happened?” she asked, rushing to Rory’s aid and hardly paying attention that it was Fitz who’d brought him. Rory had a split lip and a darkened eye, there was a cut down his cheek that looked like it could start bleeding again at a moment’s notice.

“My sister found him at the school,” Fitz responded, handing Rory off to his mother. Madge had been staying late to help with the recital she’d be playing the piano for and stumbled upon Rory on the street. If Fitz wasn't there to walk her home like he did every night considering it was late and dark and he didn't always trust the Peacekeepers, she would've brought him here herself. “He was knocked out.”

“What the hell, Rory?” Gale growled. Hazelle lowered Rory into a seat at the kitchen table and Gale strode over, grabbing his chin. “You got in a fight?”

“I’m fine,” he muttered, yanking his chin from Gale’s grasp. Gale’s eyes darted up toward Fitz who shook his head ever so slightly. _He’s not fine_. Eleven years old. Eleven years old and he's already getting into fights?! Gale dragged his hand through his hair and lets out a deep breath, he needed to be more present and stop Rory from this shit. When their dad died Gale got in a string of fights himself, but Rory doesn't have a reason to do this all of a sudden. 

“We should take him to the Everdeens,” Gale said, turning to his mother who’s rushed to the sink to get a wet rag. “He might have a concussion.”

“I’m—fine!” Rory said, wincing in between his words.

“I’m taking him,” Gale said, placing his hands on Rory’s shoulders and forcing him to stand before Hazelle could even return with the rag. “C’mon,” he guided Rory to the door who wasn’t even complaining, just grumbling under his breath. They were out the door before Hazelle could protest.

Fitz rocked awkwardly on his heels. “I’m sure he’s alright, Mrs. Hawthorne.”

“Please, Hazelle,” she told him, tossing the rag back into the sink. She looked out the window at her sons quickly striding through the Seam despite Rory's sudden limp. Finally she redirected her gaze to Fitz. “You’re the mayor’s boy, aren’t you? Fitzgerald.”

“Fitz,” he nodded.

Hazelle stepped forward and threw her arms around him. He was shocked but allowed her to hug him anyway. “Thank you for bringing Rory. I’m sure Gale would’ve said so if he had the time.”

Fitz shook his head. “It’s alright.” Fitz spun once he let her to go also look out the window. He wants to say that anyone would’ve done it but he knows that isn’t true. A variation of that might be. Fitz drags a hand through his hair. “You should go with them. I can wait here until you get back.”

“I can’t ask you to do that,” she protested.

“That’s why I offered,” Fitz responded. “Gale and I are friends,” he said. It was only kind of a lie. “I don’t mind. Honestly. Go with them.”

Hazelle hugged him again. “Thank you,” she exhaled. “Let me repay you. Come to dinner tomorrow night at seven. You and your sister who found Rory.”

“I don’t—”

“It’s the least I can do,” Hazelle said, rushing out the door, leaving Fitz alone with Posy and Vick.

“Dinner tomorrow at seven,” Fitz exhaled, turning to see Posy grinning up at him. “I know you,” he teased. She giggled. “Want me to read you guys a story?” he offered.

**

When Gale and Rory and Hazelle returned about an hour later, Posy was tucked into Fitz’s side happily snoozing. Vick was on the other side of him while he squinted into the dark, candlelit room, trying to read the problems he'd been assigned for homework and helping as best he could.

Gale scooped up Posy without saying anything and carried her into the backroom, depositing her on the bed she shared with Hazelle. Rory stumbled back into the boy’s room as well, his feet dragging but his cuts already looking better.

“Time for bed,” Hazelle told Vick, helping him collect his things. “Thank you again,” she said to Fitz. He smiled sleepily and nodded.

Gale returned to the living room and offered his hand to Fitz who took it. They walked outside together. “Thanks, man,” Gale said once they were on the street. “He’s, I don’t know what’s gotten into Rory." Through the course of the evening, trying to calm down Prim that Rory'd gotten in a fight and calm down his _mother_ that Rory had gotten in a fight, Gale managed to pry out of his brother what the  _hell_ he thought he was doing. Rory pissed off some older kids from town, teasing them about something stupid, their money or their full lunches, and they didn't like it too much. One thing led to another, he was outnumbered, and then he was on the ground. Ma's  _pissed_. "He’s gonna be alright, just need some sleep. But, just, thanks.”

“I would’ve done it for anyone,” Fitz said.

“Yeah,” Gale exhaled. “I know.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Listen, you and your sister don’t have to come to dinner. Honestly. Ma, she’s—”

“We’ll be here,” Fitz said, walking backwards. “See you at school.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there hasn't really been gadge thus far, but next chapter is the beginning!! I know we're six chapters in, but like, gadge for real! Next chapter! The beginning of it... so not a lot of gadge, but definitely more!


	7. Chapter 7

Madge had changed about eight times. “I don’t want to be too dressed up,” she’d told Fitz. “But I can’t look like I’m slumming it, either.” He bit his tongue from reminding her that it’s not like she was going on a _date,_ they’d just be eating with the Hawthorne’s. Finally he stopped her, told her she looked fine, and dragged her to the Seam.

“What do we talk about?” she asked, clutching the basket of bread they were bringing to her chest. Taftan had provided it. “For someone who’s potentially dating a Mellark, you’re sure worrying a lot about a dinner at the Hawthorne’s,” Fitz had teased her. Madge rolled her eyes so hard she got a headache. “Or do we not talk?” she continued. “The only people we’ve ever eaten dinner with are Capitol citizens and they’re horrible conversationalists!”

“We’ll be alright, Madge,” Fitz said. “Hazelle’s really nice.”

“Hazelle? I thought his sister’s name was Posy?”

“Hazelle, their mom.”

“She goes by _Hazelle_?”

“That _is_ her name,” Fitz laughed. They ventured into the Seam and Madge couldn't help but feel vastly out of place. If Fitz did he was very good at hiding it. Two blonde kids – the _mayor’s_ kids – walking in the Seam at dusk was bound to draw a lot of attention. Their steps were quick and their expressions were guarded.

Finally they made it to the Hawthorne’s and Madge already felt her cheeks warming. Fitz knocked and Vick opened the door, Gale’s youngest brother, and ushered them inside.

Suddenly there was a lot of commotion. Madge was spun from here to there to meet everyone while Fitz greeted them with a smile. Finally Madge made it to the kitchen where Hazelle was and she offered the bread. “My dad says to never show up empty handed,” she told her, and Hazelle smiled and grabbed a loaf for the table.

And then soon Gale was sitting with Fitz and they were talking about something Madge couldn’t hear. Hazelle thanked her for finding Rory on the street. “How is he?” Madge asked.

“Grounded, but alright,” Hazelle said. And then there was a tug on Madge’s shirt and she looked down to find a small little girl, Posy, looking at her with bright gray eyes.

“Are you a pwin-cess?” she asked her. Madge smiled, dropping down to her eyesight. “You and your bwo-ver are woy-alty?”

“No,” Madge laughed. “No, I’m not a princess.” Posy blinked a few times, clearly disappointed. “But you _must_ be!” she said. Posy’s eyes lit up, a smile filled her face. “You’re the prettiest girl I’ve _ever_ seen,” Madge said. Gale turned his head slightly, listening to the interaction despite the fact that Fitz was still talking to him. “You have such beautiful eyes,” she told Posy.

“I want hair like yours!” Posy said.

“No, no, your hair is so beautiful,” Madge told her. “I can braid it for you if you’d like.”

“Yes!” Posy shrieked. Gale felt his chest tighten as Posy grabbed Madge’s wrist, guiding her into the living room by the fire. “The best light is ova here,” Posy told her, considering the electricity was out. Madge hadn’t minded that everything was lit with candles and lanterns. It gave the home a nice glow. Gale watched as Posy settled down and Madge lowered herself behind her.

“Hey,” Fitz nudged him. Gale looked back, feeling his ears get hot. Fitz glanced between Gale and Madge and smirked, but didn’t say anything.

**

Dinner was delicious. Madge and Fitz were used to fancier things, and Bernard was a great cook, but Hazelle put _love_ into her food and Madge may have had to swallow a moan or two. There was never an awkward silence, though Madge didn’t really talk much. Hazelle fired out question after question, asking them about school and their life and this and that. Madge mostly spoke to Posy, but Fitz was loud and spoke to everyone.

When they finished the meal Madge insisted she help with dishes. “Please,” she said. “It’s the least I can do.” Hazelle protested but Madge continued to _insist_ and finally Hazelle agreed to let her dry as long as Gale washed. And then _he_ was protesting, “It’s Rory’s turn,” Gale grumbled, but Hazelle pushed him in the kitchen anyway.

So Madge and Gale started cleaning the dishes while Fitz entertained Posy and helped Vick with homework. With the silence heavy Madge cleared her throat. “I, um, I adore your sister,” she said. Gale looked at her, cocking an eyebrow. “She’s really cute.”

“Mm.”

“I’ve always wanted a sister,” Madge went on. “I got stuck with Fitz.”

At that Gale lets out a little laugh and Madge smiled, feeling victorious. “He sure is something, isn’t he?” Gale asked. Madge dipped her head, wiping the bowl in her hands with the towel Hazelle gave her. “Hey, so, uh,” Gale lifted the bowl in his hands and poured out some water into the sudsy sink. “Thanks for finding Rory.”

Madge felt her cheeks get hot. “I couldn’t just leave him there,” she said.

“Just…” Gale exhaled, handing her another bowl. He knew Madge had a good heart, but there were plenty of people who _would_ have just left the poor 11 year old boy on the street. Plenty of people probably saw him and thought he was starving to death or something. “Just accept my thanks, okay?”

“Okay,” she nodded. “You’re welcome.” They fell into silence again, cleaning quietly. “Are you going to the recital?” she asked.

Gale snorted. The recital happened twice a year at the school, it was a choir of kids in middle and high school singing songs that were deemed appropriate by the choir teacher. He’d gone once when he was younger but never again. It was a waste of time. “Why would I?”

“Oh.” Madge busied herself again. “I, yeah. I guess it is kind of… stupid,” she murmured. Gale looked over at her gnawing on her bottom lip. “I’m playing the piano for everyone,” Madge said, still looking at the bowl in her hands. “They sound really nice this year.” Madge looked up at him, her eyebrows colliding. “Actually, it not stupid,” she told him. “Just because it’s something nicer we do in District 12 doesn’t make it stupid,” she corrected herself. “It’s nice to take a night off. Just listen to some people sing.”

Stunned by her sudden turnaround, Gale couldn’t drop her gaze. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Yes you did.” She grabbed the last bowl from his hands and dried it quickly. “It’s not something just for _townies_ ,” Madge murmured, her tone sharp. “It’s for everyone. Maybe if you just went into it as that you’d enjoy it.” She stacked the last bowl and lowered the towel to the counter. “Or maybe not,” she said, turning her back on him and starting off to the living room where everyone else was gathered.

Gale let out a huff of air and drained the sink, listening to Fitz and Madge saying goodbye to his family and thanking them again and again for the meal. Madge catches Gale’s eyes one last time and he feels weak when he’s the first to look away.


	8. Chapter 8

Thursday night, Gale found himself sitting in the seats of the auditorium at the high school. Not that he felt bad for what he said to Madge ( _he didn’t, he didn’t_ ) but Posy really wanted to go see the “pwincess” play the piano and he couldn’t deny her that. Right? Fitz dropped himself in the seat next to Gale and scared the shit out of him.

“So you came anyway, did you?” he asked.

Gale tilted his head toward the left where his family was sitting. “Their idea.”

“Mm-hm,” Fitz grinned. He looked up toward the stage where Madge was fingering through sheet music. “I hate these things,” he admitted. “But our parents don’t come and someone’s got to be here for Madge.” It was like she knew he was talking about her and suddenly paused on stage, turning to look over her shoulder. Her eyes found his immediately and he grinned, waving at her. She waved back. “It’s the least I can do for her.”

“Why don’t your parents come?” he asked.

“Dad works,” Fitz said as Madge turned around. “Mom’s just not up for it, I guess.” Gale dipped his head, turning to watch Madge. Okay. He did. He did feel bad for what he’d said to her, the way he said it. “She’s seeing someone,” Fitz said. Gale cocked an eyebrow. “Madge.”

“Okay?”

“Taftan Mellark,” Fitz went on. “Baker’s kid.”

“I know who he is,” Gale muttered. “So what?”

“So stop making goo-goo eyes at my sister if you don’t intend to do anything about it,” Fitz responded. There was no smile in his voice. Gale looked back at Fitz. “I’m serious.”

“I’m not—what?” Gale frowned. “I’m not. I don’t care.”

“Mm-hm,” Fitz said again. Gale swallowed thickly and redirected his gaze to the stage. Madge had slipped behind the curtain so she wasn’t there anymore, but for some reason his chest was burning. Madge Undersee was out of the question for a lot of reasons. “Besides the fact that she’s, you know _seeing_ someone, you could still—”

“I’m not into your sister,” Gale grumbled.

“Okay,” Fitz went on. “But if you _were_ , I would say that she was probably into _you_ at some point.” Gale twisted his head so quickly he definitely pulled something in his neck. “So regardless of your feelings for her, tread carefully. Because if she gets hurt while you’re being an idiot I will _kill_ you.” Fitz paused a moment and then smiled brightly. “I’m moving closer to the front,” he said. “Enjoy the show.”

**

In the woods with Katniss, Gale watched her struggling to set a snare. He studied the curve of her lips, the color of her eyes, the way her nose was scrunched in frustration. He’d tried helping her but she pushed him away more than once, saying I can do it, _I can do it_! For some reason what Fitz had said was in his head. _Stop making goo-goo eyes if you don’t intend to do anything about it_. He was talking about Madge, then, but Gale was looking at Katniss now.

He knew where she stood. She didn’t want a family, didn’t want kids, a marriage. None of that. But _Gale_ did. And he’d liked her for a while underneath it all. Gale had tried to lose himself in other girls, taking them to the slagheap, but nothing ever stuck.

“Katniss,” he said.

“I’ve _got it_ ,” she responded tightly.

“Come on a date with me,” Gale said. Katniss fingers flew away from the wires in her hands and she looked up at him at once. “Just one.” She was frozen, staring at him with disbelief on her face. And then she was shaking her head, side to side, slowly and unsure. And for some reason, his chest wasn't tight and his eyes weren't burning, he wasn't shocked by her response. His voice was calm, “Why not?”

“Gale…” Katniss finally looked away. Her throat was thick, and now he felt his ribs beginning to ache. She didn’t know how to respond, her fingers aching from the knots she’d been working on. “I… you know how I feel about all of that?” Finally he looked away, letting out a deep breath. What did he expect? “You’re my best friend,” she told him.

“I know," he grit. But he could be more if she let him. If she wanted to risk it.

“I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without you,” she went on desperately. Clearly she didn't  _want_ to risk it. 

“I _know,”_   he said again. And then, despite the ache in his jaw from clenching his teeth, he realized something. Why should he hold out for someone that didn't want to be with him? Katniss had never shown any interest, not in _any_ way. And Gale knew she wasn't going to. “Just, never mind. Forget it.”

“Gale—”

“Just forget it,” he said again. Gale stooped down and picked up the snare she’d been working on, fixing it quickly and handing it to her to set. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Katniss looked away, getting straight back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to include Gale's feelings for Katniss somewhere. This is brief but I think it's realistic. Again, not much gadge, but next chapter!! Promise.


	9. Chapter 9

Gale started going to the slagheap again. There wasn’t a shortage of girls that wanted to go with him, and he needed to stop thinking about Katniss, so away he went. After school and after dinner late at night he would disappear and return even later with bruises on his neck, feeling unfulfilled.

That’s how it came to be a Friday night, a few weeks before Gale’s final Reaping, that he found Fitzgerald Undersee passed out on the slag. The girl that was with Gale looked up at him expectantly but Gale sighed loudly, waving the girl off and striding toward Fitz.

“Fitz,” Gale shook his friend’s shoulders, trying to rouse him. The smell of whisky was strong and Gale wrinkled his nose. Since when did Fitz drink? “Fitz, c’mon, wake up.” The boy on the ground groaned, shaking his head slightly. “ _Fitz_ ,” Gale said again.

“Iunanna,” Fitz murmured. _Ah, fuck,_ Gale thought. Completely forgetting about the girl waiting for him Gale struggled with Fitz, trying to get him to his feet. “The fuck?” Fitz squinted into the darkness, trying to shove Gale away. “What do you want?”

“I’m taking you home,” Gale said. “Come on.” Fitz stood up for a moment before staggering away from Gale, vomiting on the side of the street. “Are you kidding me?” Gale asked no one in particular. By this point the girl had left and Gale’s main concern was getting Fitz home without being stopped by Peacekeepers.

It was a long, slow walk but eventually they made it there. Gale’s shoulder was killing him, Fitz having been slumped on him a majority of the walk, and they pushed through the back gate to take him through the backdoor.

“Oh, thank God!” Gale heard. He looked up and found Madge rushing toward them, her face full of worry. She moved to sling Fitz’s other arm around her shoulder. “Can you help me get him inside?”

“Madge,” Fitz croaked, “Madge, I’m sorry.”

“I know,” she said back, clearly struggling under his weight. She shot Gale an apologetic look and he answered her earlier question by doing just that, helping her get Fitz inside. The stairs were not an option at this point so they dropped him on the couch. Fitz curled onto his side. “Can you wait on the porch?” she asked Gale. “I’ll be out in a second.”

“Sure,” he murmured. Madge went back to tending for Fitz, getting him a bucket from under the sink in case he had to puke and setting a glass of water on the floor by him. Eventually she made it back outside and Gale was sitting on one of those fancy outdoor couches. He turned when she shut the door with a click. Madge lowered herself in the seat next to him. “Is he okay?”

“He’ll be fine,” Madge insisted. “Thank you for bringing him here. I’ve been freaking out, I didn’t know what to do.”

“It’s no problem,” Gale told her. “But I mean, is he _okay_?” Madge looked over at him, his eyebrows curved in question. “Fitz isn’t the type to—”

“Yeah,” Madge cut him off. “I know, yeah. No. Um. No.” She rubbed her forehead, looking away from him again. “No,” she said another time, her voice softer. “Um, our mom,” she started, her voice rough. “She, um.” Madge took a deep breath. Before Gale could tell her she didn’t need to go on Madge started speaking again. “Our mom’s sick. Like, unfixable sick? They just told us tonight.” Gale sat quiet for a moment, watching her pale chin quiver. “Fitz ran out,” Madge continued, her voice shaking. “I tried to follow him but then our dad started yelling, I panicked, then Fitz was gone and my dad left for the Capitol and my mom…”

“Hey, hey,” Gale reached out before he could stop himself, grabbing her hand. “It’s alright. I’m sorry I asked.” She inhaled deeply and turned her hand to squeeze his fingers back. Madge’s eyes were tightly shut and he shifted himself so he was closer. She didn’t say anything for a very long time and Gale could tell she was trying not to cry. “When my dad died,” Gale started gently. “We didn’t have any warning. I guess you usually don’t for these sorts of things. We didn’t…” her eyes peeled open to look at him, full of tears she struggled not to shed. “We didn’t get to say goodbye.” Madge looked away from him, blinking hard. “If I were you… I’d try to focus on this time that you still have. Make the most of it. You know?”

“Yeah,” she exhaled. “Yeah. You’re right.” After another moment she added, “I’m sorry about your dad.”

“It was a long time ago,” he murmured. Gale couldn’t believe that Madge just told him her mother was dying and she was _apologizing_ to him. “But thank you.”

Again she was quiet for a moment. “Does it still hurt, though?”

Gale hesitated before dipping his head. He couldn’t lie to her about that. “Yeah. All the time.” Madge nodded, looking up as though she once again was trying not to cry. “But it gets easier.” Madge sniffled once and turned to him again. “If you need to talk about it,” Gale started, “or _not_ talk about it. I… I know it’s not any easier to be around family when it happens, when it gets hard. And I’m pretty good company sometimes.” Madge laughed a little, shaking her head. “What?”

“I just never thought Gale Hawthorne would be offering his support,” she said, sniffling again. “First you show up at the recital, now you’re—”

“Ah, wait a second,” he cut her off, “the recital was Posy’s idea I most certainly was not there to support you.”

“Mm,” she bit the inside of her cheek to try to keep herself from smiling. Her eyes were still wet but she felt a little better.

“In fact, even if I was there to support you,” he went on, “not that I was, you wouldn’t have even needed it.” Madge looked up at him through her eyelashes. “You were great,” he told her quietly. Even in the moonlight he could see the pink on her cheeks. Her smile was sweet and Gale’s mouth suddenly felt dry. “Listen,” he pulled his hand away – why was he still holding her hand? – and scratched at his jaw. “I should go.”

“Yeah,” Madge stood as he did, almost awkwardly. “Thanks. For everything.”

“No problem.” Gale started for the steps off the porch. “You know where to find me.” Before he could make it down even one step Madge was at her side, wrapping her arms around him. It took him a moment but then his arms snuck around her too, holding her tightly for just a moment. Gale released her and she stepped back, shyly tucking her hair behind her ear. “Night, Undersee.”

“Goodnight,” she smiled back.


	10. Chapter 10

“Pretty dress,” Gale said. Madge arched her eyebrow at him in a challenge. Katniss beside him shot him a nasty look. They weren’t exactly how they used to be but they were friends again, they could tread in the same water and for that Gale was relieved. Katniss, too.

“Well if I’m going to the Capitol I want to look nice, don’t I?” she shot back. Gale’s own eyebrows arched, wondering if this back and forth wasn’t entirely friendly.

“Ah, ah,” Fitz appeared behind her with the money for the trade. “I think he was just flirting with you, Madgey.” Gale and Katniss rolled their eyes and Madge held back her smile, pursing her lips instead. She hated Reaping day. Everyone did. They could tolerate it with teasing, jokes, only long enough until it was over. “Besides, we’re not going to the Capitol. You know that.” He looked at the two with the basket of strawberries. “They know that.”

“Good luck, regardless,” Katniss said, trading with him. “To both of you.”

“To both of _you_ ,” Fitz responded, his eyes drifting between the two of them. He held up the basket. “Thank you.”

“We’ll see you in the square,” Madge told them. Her eyes found Gale’s. He dipped his head. “Good luck,” she said another time. She felt they just might need it.

**

Katniss and Peeta were both taken in a matter of minutes. Madge could still hear Katniss volunteering, she was _right next to her_ and then she was gone. And then Peeta’s name was echoing in the square and _he_ was gone. And by the time the train left and she said her goodbyes, she was shaking. Fitz pulled her close but his arms weren’t comforting, not at all. Madge’s eyes were burning and her chest was tight and she couldn’t breathe, and she _hated_ herself for feeling this way when she wasn’t even the one going off to die.

Her breath, when she learned how to inhale and exhale all over again, was sharp and fast. “It’s okay,” Fitz told her, again and again. “It’ll be okay.” Madge couldn’t explain to him that it wouldn’t be okay. That two of her only friends were gone forever, and probably not going to come back. And even if one of them _did_ come back it meant that the other _wouldn’t_ , and the one that _would_ was going to be so different and so broken like Haymitch was. So she shook her head, keeping her thoughts to herself instead of voicing them.

“Your pin’s gone,” Fitz told her as they walked home.

“I gave it to Katniss,” she responded. Her voice was thick. Fitz sighed, swinging his arm around her shoulder. “I thought she’d like it,” she croaked. “With the mockingjay and all.”

“I bet she does,” Fitz nodded. “Just don’t tell Mom, okay?” Madge agreed and sucked in deep breaths.

And then she wanted to play and she couldn’t. Madge needed to feel something other than numb and she sat at the piano, her fingers straining for the keys, but her mother was having a headache and she wasn’t allowed, _she wasn’t allowed_. Madge could feel her anger oozing into her hands. She balled them into fists and held them at her sides. Breathe. Breathe. _People are watching you. People are always watching you._

**

Gale returned home from the woods and found Madge Undersee sitting on his porch. He blinked a few times, his eyebrows colliding in confusion, before he slowly walked the rest of the way to her and sat down beside her. She jumped in surprise at his sudden arrival. His footsteps were soft, quiet like always.

Gale’s eyes scanned her outfit, the same damned white dress she’d been wearing earlier. Why hadn’t she bothered to change? It wasn’t right to be in the Seam in white, it would be gray before she knew it.

Regardless, his hand extended and felt the material. “It is a pretty dress,” he murmured. Madge watched his thumb grazing the fabric and blinked to stop her tears.

“I wish it were me,” she croaked.

“Fuck,” he growled, dropping his hold. “No you _don’t_.” Madge inhaled sharply. “No you don’t,” he said again, his voice lower. For a moment Gale had considered volunteering. Katniss didn’t love him, not the way he wanted just a few months ago, but they were still best friends. He still cared about her more than absolutely anyone. She was his _partner_. In the arena he could’ve watched her back, he could’ve protected her. But just as quickly as the idea was in his head, it had left. Not only because Katniss would’ve hated him for it, but because he _couldn’t have_. “Why are you here?” he finally asked.

Madge was quiet for a moment. “I didn’t know where else to go.”

She couldn’t say it to Gale, either. That two of her only friends had gone. She couldn’t voice her fears. Madge was partly terrified that Fitz would be the next to go, right after her mother. Then she’d have no one, _no one_ , and she was so incredibly terrified of that.

Gale scrubbed his face and stood. He walked up the stairs to his home and dropped his hunting bag off inside before marching back down the steps. He extended his hand to her and she looked up, teary eyed, before accepting it. “Let me walk you home,” he said.

**

The weight of it was unbearable. Madge was pretty sure she was the only person in the entire district that was friendly with both Katniss and Peeta. Her chest hurt so much that she stopped eating in the cafeteria because looking at Katniss’s empty seat was giving her anxiety. Taftan had ended things the day after the Reaping, telling her he couldn’t handle the pressures of a relationship. And despite Fitz constantly being by her side, Madge felt incredibly alone.

Except when she was with Gale.

They didn’t talk much. Neither of them really had anything to say. But they would sit beside one another, sometimes near a television to watch recaps and sometimes in the meadow to forget that the Games were even on. She would try her hardest to carry the conversations but it wasn’t always easy.

“My mom’s been sleeping for like, a week.”

“They’re sending Fitz on a weekend trip to the Capitol soon. I don’t know when exactly but he doesn’t seem too excited about it.”

“I haven’t gone to the bakery in a really long time and Fitz keeps messing up the orders.”

“Fitz has actually been sneaking off a lot lately. I don’t know what that’s about.”

“I haven’t been able to play the piano with my mom sick like she is. I’ve started running. You know. Track? On the team at school? The coach says I’m pretty fast.”

“I don’t sleep. Do you?”

Gale would let her ramble, getting whatever she needed to say off of her chest. And when she ran out of things to say he would take over for her.

“Watching the Games makes me sick. But not watching the Games makes me sick too.”

“They’ve started all of us on filling out our paperwork for the mines. I keep putting it off as long as I can.”

"There's a donation for them in the Hob. I don't have enough money to donate. Can you fucking believe that?"

“I fucked up all my snares the other day and didn’t catch a fucking thing. I’m losing it, Undersee.”

“I used to think I was in love with Katniss. Seeing her with Peeta—I just want her to come home. I don’t care how.”

“I don’t sleep, either.”

Neither of them asked the other to elaborate. Absolutely never. Gale wanted to know about Fitz. _He has been acting different lately_ , Gale would say. _I don’t think it has to do with a trip to the Capitol though._ He’d also apologize for Taftan if he could. _Fucking idiot. He doesn’t know what he’s missing out on._ And Madge without the piano? That was how Gale first knew her. Katniss had pointed out that she was playing. _You could practice at the school_ , he’d say. _At least you’d be able to play_.

Madge knew if she said what was really on her mind it might lead to heartache. _I’m sorry about Katniss. Did you love her? Do you? Why not? Or why? And why does it matter to me? Peeta’s a good guy. He won’t hurt her_. And things like, _If there was a way to get you out of the mines I’d do anything. No one deserves that. No one. I know you’ll hate it. I’m so sorry. What would you rather do instead? I’m sure you’d be good at it_.

And they always sat about one foot apart. Madge to the left, Gale to the right. It felt weird any other way. They never touched – not until Katniss and Peeta were both declared the winners. Gale hugged her so tightly she couldn’t breathe, Madge could feel his heartbeat. Because somehow, they’d beaten the odds. And maybe things could go back to how they were. Pulling apart from the hug Gale brushed her hair behind her ear. But did he really _want_ that?


	11. Chapter 11

“Are you sure you can’t come?” Madge asked. Peeta wrinkled his nose, looking off in the distance. “It’ll be good for you to get some fresh air.” Ever since he’d returned from the Games he’d been more closed off. She expected that, really, but she missed the old Peeta too. “It’s on Sunday. I’d really like it if you could come.”

“I’ll think about it,” he told her. Madge’s first race on the track team was this weekend and she was terrified. Her father and Fitz would be in the Capitol and her mother definitely wasn’t getting out of bed to come see her run. She wanted _someone_ to be there. Peeta wasn’t very good in crowds, though. Not yet, not so soon. “Really, I will. I’ll try.”

She grabbed his hand and squeezed tightly.

Katniss was a no-go, too. She’d been spending more time with Madge than before, but like Peeta she’d mostly kept to herself when she wasn’t in front of hundreds of cameras or swarmed by the press. Madge supposed that Katniss and Peeta coming out to the school would bring a lot of attention their way again, so maybe it was best they agreed not to come. She didn’t know much about their “relationship” now that the Games were over. But Madge hoped they found solace in one another. Having them both back was a miracle, and though they were different she felt blessed, in a way.

That afternoon Madge said goodbye to Fitz and her dad, sending them off on the train. The good news was with the mayor and upcoming mayor gone, they didn’t have to house any Capitol guests. Madge wasn’t sure if she’d be able to take another day of it anyway.

The day of her race rolled around and the stands were empty of anyone she knew. She wasn’t surprised, but it did hurt a little. It was a cool autumn afternoon and she had enough pent up stress to sprint her heart out. As she went to lift her water bottle to her lips she felt a tap on her shoulder, spinning around and nearly choking on the cap.

“Gale,” she rasped. He wrinkled his nose, looking up at the sky. “What… are you doing here?” she asked.

“Figured I’d stop by,” he told her. Madge was confused for a bundle of reasons but smiled regardless. Sundays were Gale’s days in the woods, so maybe he spent the morning there? After he’d started his descent into the mines he was hardly around, she hadn’t seen him in days. “Ah, Fitz…”

“Oh,” Madge nodded, looking toward her shoes. “He asked you to come?”

“No,” Gale shook his head, glancing toward the mostly empty stands. “But I knew he wouldn’t be here, and once he told me he was the only one to come to your stuff. So that meant you’d have no one here, and that didn’t sit well with me.” Madge’s cheeks felt hot as he looked back toward her. “I hope that’s okay?”

“Yeah,” she smiled. “Of course.”

He motioned to the seats, “I brought Vick and Posy.”

“Even better,” Madge laughed. “See, I knew I’d get your support one day.”

He wrinkled his nose again and she laughed another time. A small smile blossomed on his face. “Good luck,” he told her sincerely, reaching down to grab her hand before joining his brother and sister at the stands.

**

She didn’t win, but she did come in second. Gale felt a surge of victory when it was announced, even though it wasn’t first place. Posy cheered wildly. Vick was sort of confused as to why he was there at all, but smiled and cheered anyway. An hour later once all of the various races were over Gale turned to the kids, telling them to go wait at the gate of the school because he had to do something really quick.

“Are you goin’ to see Madge?” Posy asked.

“I am,” Gale nodded.

“Can I come?” she said, hopping on her toes. Gale smiled and guided her toward Vick, telling her he would pass on the love. She accepted that as an answer and the kids walked off, leaving Gale to have a moment alone with her.

Gale pulled her aside the moment she was by herself. Her forehead was glistening, strands of her golden hair were slipping from her ponytail and framing her face. “Hey,” she grinned at him, wiping her forearm over her face to collect sweat. Madge threw her arms around him quickly. “I’m so glad you were here. Thank you for coming!”

“Hey, it’s no problem,” he told her. When she let him go they walked a little bit. Gale glanced over to make sure his siblings were still waiting at the gate, and he and Madge walked toward the back of the school. It was still in view of the kids but out of the view of people on the track. “You did great.”

“I didn’t win.”

“Posy sure thinks you did,” Gale said. Madge smiled again, biting on her bottom lip. “You came in second, Undersee, against 11 other girls. You did great.”

Her smile didn’t fade as he spoke. “Thank you,” she said again, though her voice was much softer. She leaned backwards against the brick wall of the school. “For everything. For coming. It was just really nice to know someone was here.” Gale took a step toward her as she rambled. “I know Fitz would’ve came if he was in the district, maybe he could’ve convinced my dad too, but I asked a whole bunch of people and everyone was busy and just the fact that you came really means a lot to me and—”

God, he couldn’t do it anymore. Gale reached forward, tilting her chin up and quickly pressing his lips to hers. When Gale arrived earlier today he had no intention of kissing Madge Undersee. He really did just want her to know he was here for her. But the fierce look of determination in her eyes as she ran, the curly pieces of hair that stuck to her forehead, the way she gave her water bottle to a girl that forgot to bring one, it all added up and he was itching with desire. Gale stepped closer again and Madge’s hand lifted to hook onto his shirt. She tasted salty and her lips were soft and just as she stepped on her tiptoes to force him closer, he pulled away.

Madge’s eyes fluttered open as her hand fell from his shirt as he took a step back “I should go,” he exhaled.

“Gale, wait—”

“I’ve got the kids,” he said, glancing toward the gate where they were standing. Still, he lingered, reaching forward and tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. Gale smiled, then, and Madge felt her heart exploding in her chest. The feeling of her heart humming as she ran was _nothing_ compared to the way it was racing now. “I’ll see you soon.”

Gale walked away before she could say anything else. She licked her lips and leaned backwards on the wall, trying to catch her breath and laughing to herself. Madge felt like a winner after all.

**

When Fitz and her father came back that night they all hugged and congratulated her on her placing. Her father told her maybe next time she’d come in first and Fitz agreed to start morning jogging with her. The mayor retired to bed early, exhausted from the trip, but Fitz and Madge stayed in the kitchen drinking tea until it got pretty late. Even Bernard had gone to bed by then.

“I have to tell you something,” Madge said.

“Me too,” Fitz nodded, blowing on his tea. “You first, though.”

“No, you can go.” He gave her a sideways look and she smiled, “Okay fine. Fine! I’ll go first.” Fitz waved his hand, _get on with it already_ , and Madge cleared her throat. “Um, Gale kissed me.” Fitz turned all the way in his chair to face her, his eyebrows shooting up behind his bangs. “Today. After the race.”

“He went to the race?” Fitz asked. “Huh.” Madge sipped on her tea, still elated from the event. “That’s… that’s great, Madge.” He smiled at her. “When’s the date?” She opened her mouth to respond but then closed it, narrowing her eyes at him. “He didn’t ask you on a date?” Fitz’s smile was gone now and Madge blinked a few times, shaking her head. “He kissed you and didn’t ask you on a date,” Fitz said, making a statement rather than asking a question. “Did he say _anything?”_

“No…” Madge frowned. She could feel her body filling up with gray, the happiness draining through her toes. “He had his siblings with him. Told me he’d see me soon.”

Fitz dragged a hand through his hair and sighed. “Madge—”

“No, it’s different,” she protested. Maybe a few months ago Gale would’ve kissed her and ran but they’ve gotten to know each other better since then, since the Games.

He rubbed at his eyes, sighing again. “You know how he is. He’s one of my best friends, sure, but he… fuck.” Madge looked away, fiddling with the ends of her hair to keep herself busy. “I don’t want you to get hurt, Madge.”

“He hasn’t _done_ anything,” she tried. And he might not… which could hurt her. She closed her eyes hard. “I’m not… we’ll just see where it goes, okay? Don’t… don’t say anything to him. Please?” Fitz nodded, sighing another time.

He reached over, resting his hand atop hers. “I hope it works out,” he whispered. “I really do.”

“Okay,” Madge squeezed his fingers. “Your turn.”

“Oh,” Fitz pulled his hand back into his lap and looked away from her. “Fuck. Okay. I swore to myself I’d do this.” Madge waited patiently beside him, looking at him with expectant eyes. “Okay. In the Capitol this weekend, we didn’t really do anything. I met President Snow.”

“Wow. That’s—”

“Terrifying,” Fitz nodded. “It was terrifying. But everything was fine. Mostly we just, we were around businessmen the whole time. Didn’t see too much of the people in the Capitol. I mean we see them when they come to 12 so I knew what to expect, but it was a whole other level there, Madge.” She nodded, waiting for him to continue. “It’s a beautiful place,” Fitz admitted. “But it’s terrifying. All of it.”

“Okay…”

“But I…” Fitz rubbed his face. “It’s weird, somehow, that the Capitol can be much more accepting about some things than the districts.” Madge narrowed her eyes at him, clearly confused as to where this was going. “Please don’t hate me,” he whispered.

“What? No, Fitz—”

“I’ve known for a while that I didn’t like girls,” he said. Madge inched backwards, shocked. “Since I was little.” Her lips parted as she processed what he was saying to her. “They don’t care about that stuff in the Capitol,” Fitz said, his voice shaking. “And I saw gay couples there, Madge, and I—I,” she reached out, grabbing his hand again. “Don’t hate me,” he said again.

“Never,” she shook her head. “Never, I could never hate you, Fitz.” He squeezed her fingers tightly and took a deep breath, his chest heaving. “I love you so much, _so much_. You’re my best friend.” He nodded, still trying to breathe.

“I’ve tried, Madge. I’ve been to the slagheap, I’ve kissed plenty, it just—it doesn’t work for me.”

“And that’s okay,” Madge insisted. “It is.”

“I don’t know what to do,” he went on. “It’s fine in the Capitol, they do whatever they want there. I’m pretty sure they all just have sex with each other all the time,” he admitted. Madge laughed a little at that and his lips curled upwards slightly, only to fade again. “But here? In the district, people… they wouldn’t be okay with that.” A gay mayor? Absolutely not. So many people, including his parents, expected him to find a wife and have children and carry on the Undersee name. “I don’t know what to do,” he rasped. “I’ve been seeing someone and—”

“You have?” her eyes lit up. “I knew you were sneaking around!”

“It’s… complicated,” Fitz sighed. She looked at him, tilting her head and waiting for him to say something. “Zach Felbourn,” he finally told her. The jeweler’s son. “You can’t tell anyone, Madge, not until I figure some stuff out.”

“Of course not,” she smiled. “Who would I tell? I have like one friend in the entire world and it’s _you_.” Fitz laughed, leaning over and wrapping his arms around her and hugging her as tight as he possibly could. “I love you, Fitz,” she murmured as he held her.

“I love you, Madge,” he exhaled. “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knew from the beginning that Fitz wasn't straight, which may or may not have had a little to do with how he was trying so hard to be Gale's friend... also I had no idea how Madge/Gale's first kiss was going to be. This just kind of happened. Sometimes that happens, you know?


	12. Chapter 12

A week later Gale still hadn’t spoken to Madge. He thought about her often, and each day that passed the feeling of dread in his stomach started to weigh more. Gale kept putting it off, night after night, exhausted from the mines and _terrified_ of what he’d done. What started as a hesitant friendship with Fitzgerald Undersee ended up with Gale _pining_ over Madge Undersee herself. Because, fuck the logic behind how it wouldn't work, Gale couldn’t get her out of his mind.

So finally one Tuesday night after leaving the mines he went straight for the Undersees. It was starting to get cooler now that they were well into fall and the sun was setting earlier. He could catch the last remaining glimpses of the sunset before night surrounded them.

He knocked on the backdoor as though he was making a trade and waited. Fitz answered the door. He looked at Gale without saying anything for a long time. Finally Gale caved.

“Is Madge here?”

“Hmm… I think I know someone named Madge? She might be here, but I’m not entirely sure.”

Gale scowled at him. “Can I talk to her, Fitz?” After a quick glance inside the boy stepped outside, shutting the door behind him. “Fitz—”

“I swear to God, Hawthorne,” he growled, “if you fuck this up you are _dead_ to me. Where do you get off kissing her then running away, huh?” Gale exhaled deeply, scrubbing at his face. Fitz took a deep breath and stepped backwards towards the door. “I’ll get her. But I swear…” he shook his head, his eyes dark. “Don’t fuck it up,” Fitz nearly plead, slipping back inside.

Gale should’ve planned a speech or something. Rehearsed. Because the moment Madge stepped outside he forgot everything he’d been thinking. Her eyes were bright, though, and she smiled at him. “Hi,” she said.

“Hey,” he forced out. Gale tipped his head toward the yard. “Can we…?”

“Sure,” she nodded. They walked down the porch steps and into the yard, toward the weeping willow in the back that was beginning to yellow with the weather. “How’re the mines?” Madge asked, trying to make conversation.

“They’re shitty,” Gale told her with a sigh. “But nothing I can do about that.” Madge reached up to fiddle with a hanging branch and risked a glance at him. “Listen,” he started. “I really like you.” Madge turned fully now, her eyes widening. “I like how you speak your mind, how you’ve _never_ taken any of my shit. I like how determined you are. I like the way you are with my siblings, even if you’ve only met them once or twice.” Madge smiled at him and he wanted to smile back, but he couldn’t. “But—”

“No,” she cut him off immediately, shaking her head. “No buts.” Gale looked away so she grabbed his hands. “I like _you_ ,” she said. “Why’s there got to be a _but_?”

“Because look at me,” he frowned. He was still covered in coal from work, it was in his hair and under his nails and along his jawline. Gale turned her hands over in his, showing her that he’d passed along some of the dust to her. “And then look at you.”

“What I see,” Madge whispered, “is a brave, strong, fiercely loyal and incredibly dedicated boy, who’s scared of… _nothing_.” She laced her fingers with his, despite the coal. “He’s scared of a bridge we might never even have to cross.”

“One day,” he tried, “we’ll get to that bridge.”

“And we’ll find other ways to get to the other side,” she insisted. Gale opened his mouth to protest but she gave him another look, and he realized that no matter what he said she’d find a rebuttal. Seventeen years old and Madge had already learned how to win an argument. “Do you want this?” she asked him. “Do you want to be with me?”

“Yes,” Gale croaked, dropping down to capture her lips. Their hands untangled as he cupped her cheeks, kissing her desperately. Her hands gripped his shirt again but this time there was no chance in hell she’d be letting him go. They swayed, stumbled slightly due to being off balance, before they became breathless. He lowered his forehead to hers. “Are you positive?” he asked. “Because I’ve got the mines, and Sundays are basically booked, and I’m going to be grumpy and tired and—” she kissed him again, cutting off his rambling. “Fuck it,” Gale rasped, kiss after kiss. “We’ll make it work.”

“Yeah,” she grinned against his mouth, “that’s what I want to hear.”

**

It was harder than either of them thought, but they persisted. Tuesdays and Thursdays and Saturdays after work he would come to her, exhausted and grumpy as promised, but trying his hardest not to be. Just being around Madge made him feel better, like her sunshine was enough to keep him from actually missing the sun. When she would slip inside to make tea or grab an old blanket for them to share, Fitz would come outside, make sure things were still going okay.

“So you’re a one girl man, now?” Fitz would ask. “No more slagheap days?”

“I haven’t been to the slagheap since I found your drunk ass passed out there,” Gale returned.

“And your Katniss-esque days?”

“In the past,” Gale insisted. “I’m not planning to fuck this up, Fitz,” he told his friend. And no matter how hard it was to admit, he did it anyway, “I really care about her.”

Fitz nodded and sucked his teeth. “Say this exact phrase so I know it’s real.” Fitz cleared his throat. “I, Gale Hawthorne, am incredibly into Madge Undersee. And Fitz Undersee called it a few months ago because he’s better than me at everything, including predicting the future.”

“I am not saying that,” Gale frowned. Fitz cocked an eyebrow. “No. Absolutely not, you are not better than me at everything.”

“But I did call this,” Fitz said. “And you know it. Back at the recital! When she was with Taftan still.” Gale’s eyebrows furrowed together. “Ah, forgot about Madge-y’s first love, did you?” Gale rolled his eyes and waved his hand, trying to play it off. “After Peeta came back he asked her out again, did you know that?” Gale clenched his teeth. _No_. He did _not_ know that. “Yikes,” Fitz made a face. “My mistake.”

**

“Do you still talk to Taftan?” Gale asked one night. The days were getting cold so they sat on the porch, close to one another. Especially when it snowed. Madge insisted they go inside but Gale was adamant against it, not wanting to bring in any coal from work considering he didn’t change before he came over most nights. She shot him a funny look. “Just wondering.”

“I mean, I haven’t for a few days, no,” she shook her head. “Not really.”

“A few days?” Gale frowned.

“Yeah,” she gave him a classic Fitz look, one of her eyebrows higher than the other. “I had to pick up our order from the bakery and he was working the counter with Proja.” He clenched his jaw, something Madge had learned he always did when he was frustrated. “Why?”

“Fitz said something the other day, I just,” Gale shook his head. “Forget it.” Madge reached over cupping his cheeks and pulling her to face him. “Forget it,” he said again. She leaned forward and kissed him gently, causing him to sigh. Her fingers brushed his cheek. “Sorry,” he murmured.

“What’s on your mind?” she asked.

Gale kissed her again before pulling back. “I want to do things with you,” he said. “I want to take you into town and I want people to see us together and I want people to know that you’re mine. That we’re together,” he corrected. He told Katniss the other day in the woods and she took to it with shock, but didn’t say much else. _That’s nice_ , she’d told him. _Madge is really great_. And Madge had told Peeta who’d laughed and shook his head, _It’s about time_.

Madge thought for a moment before smiling. “The Harvest Festival,” she said. Katniss and Peeta are leaving for their Victory Tour in a few days, and with that comes the Harvest Festival to celebrate their win. “You can come, I mean as Katniss’s _cousin_ you’re already invited. And then we can be together and people can see and know that.”

“Mm,” he nodded. “I'd like that.”


	13. Chapter 13

Peeta proposed to Katniss. Madge wondered if it’s for real or if there’s something going on there. She asked Fitz, but he told her he didn’t know. She didn’t really believe him. Walking through the house one day Madge heard gunfire, which was confusing to her. Madge pressed her ear against her father’s office and listened to shouts of rebellion, shouts of uprising in other districts. She knew that Fitz knew about this. She knew he didn’t tell her.

Gale came to the Harvest Festival as promised. His hair was slicked back and Madge laughed at him, running her fingers through it until he looked like himself again. He told her he wished he had nicer clothes. The mayor watched as Gale kissed Madge on the cheek, and he said nothing. He simply smiled.

“I need to talk to you about something,” Madge told him as they danced. She was taller in her heels, especially for someone who was already considered to be pretty tall. Still, she was shorter than Gale. He dipped down a little. “I think something’s happening,” she whispered, just loud enough that he could hear but no one else could.

Gale dipped down, his lips grazing her ear. “What do you mean?”

In the midst of the cameras it was too risky. She dragged him to her room to quietly, _very quietly_ , explain what she heard coming from her father’s office and how Fitz wouldn’t even entertain the idea. Gale sat on the edge of her bed as she paced in front of him, her heels clicking on the hardwood.

“I’ll find out what I can,” Gale finally told her. Madge sighed, sinking into the spot beside him. Gale reached out, resting his hand on her knee. “Nothing we can do at the moment. You keep pestering Fitz, I’m sure you’ll get something out of him.”

“You’re right,” she agreed. After a moment of silence Madge sighed again. “We should go back downstairs.” Madge went to stand but Gale stayed in his place, looking at her with his eyebrows high on his forehead. “What?”

“Downstairs?” he asked. “Where there are an infinite number of people? Compared to…” he extended his hands to her empty room. Madge laughed as a smirk filled his face. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to stand, and then pulled on the collar of his shirt so she could kiss him. “I wish your hair was down,” he murmured against her lips. “This is a lot more difficult,” Gale told her, referring to the golden ribbon that kept her hair from her face. It took them a few minutes to get back downstairs.

**

“So it’s really happening?” Gale asked, shaking his head in disbelief. To be fair, when Madge mentioned there might be some sort of uprising going on, he doubted her. But to hear it from Katniss who witnessed it firsthand, confirming Madge’s suspicion, is making him overflow with excitement. “You’re kidding.”

“I’m not, Gale, and that’s why we’ve got to run.”

Katniss gave this big long speech about how fleeing the district was the best thing they could do, that they had to get out before things got bad, but Gale couldn’t. “Absolutely not,” he shook his head. “This is what I’ve been waiting for my entire _life_ , Katniss!” She could run, but he was staying, and he was going to fight. If she had asked him to run before telling him about the rebellion then he’d already be packing, but because she’s confirmed it there’s absolutely no chance that he’s going to consider it.

She kept pushing. “If we run away then everyone will be safe. We can take Madge if that’s what you want!”

“Safe? If that’s what I want?” Madge would never run, Gale knew that. She’d never even been in the woods as far as he knew. “You haven’t—Katniss, you’ve given us all a chance! It’s _happening_!” They argue, back and forth, Katniss pleading for him to leave. But how could he? How could Gale run when he’s finally being allowed to join the fight! He leaves her with a shake of his head. “You leave, then. I’d never go in a million years.”

**

Fitz messed up the bakery order. _Again_. Madge snatched the brown paper bag from his hands and started toward the door. “I’ll be back,” she called over her shoulder. “With the _correct_ items Bernard requested.” He mimicked her voice, very high pitched, and she laughed as she ventured into the cold. Madge looked up and found the sky gray, it was going to snow today and she knew it. Madge never did like winter very much.

The trek into town wasn’t too bad, but there did seem to be a pretty big crowd in the square. She hardly paid attention as she went into the bakery, greeting Taftan who was working the counter and asking if it was possible to exchange her goods. “Fitz messed them up again,” Madge said and Taftan laughed, taking the bag from her to get the correct things. As Madge waited for him to get their right bread, they heart a muffled shouting. “Do you hear that?” she asked.

Taftan looked out the glass window toward the square. “Yeah. Crowd’s been forming for a bit.”

Madge looked too. “What’s going on?” she asked, but he lifted his shoulders. The indecipherable yelling finally stopped and Madge turned back to him, accepting the paper bag. “Thanks.” He nodded, and as Madge turned to leave they heard the first crack. She froze, vastly unfamiliar with the sound. And then there was another, and a grunt that was so loud it made her shiver. “What—”

“You should get home,” Taftan said, quickly emerging from behind the counter and starting toward the glass window. “Go on.”

“Well, what—”

“Madge,” he looked at her with panic in his eyes and she felt cold again.

Madge went for the door but instead of her feet carrying her toward her home, she pushed her way through the crowds to get a better view. Another crack, another. With four rows of people in front of her Madge finally got a look at what was happening. Nausea rolled through her in waves and she stumbled backwards, the world completely off balance. _Gale. Gale. Gale._ She wanted to scream but she could barely even breathe. He was on his knees, the pool of blood below him dark and red, his face clenched in _agony_ —

She ran home as fast as she could. The only thing keeping her seeing straight, thinking straight, was somehow the brown plastic bag in her hands. Left, right, left, right, _in, out, in, out_ , her breathing in time with the whip, almost there, almost home. But what could she possibly do? She threw open the door. “ _Fitz!_ ” she screamed. He appeared at once. “The TV,” she rasped, her entire body shaking.

“They just turned it off,” he told her.

“ _Fitz_ ,” she croaked. Madge dropped the bag on the ground and grabbed his collar, trying to force him to understand what was happening. “I _saw it_ , he’s—what happened?”

“Madge,” he dropped his hands on her shoulders and kept his voice as low and calm as he possibly could. “He was caught poaching. They turned it off because Katniss intervened. His sentence is done.” She was shaking her head. _He’s going to die_. “Madge,” Fitz said again. “Look at me. He’s going to be okay.”

“He’s not, he’s—he lost too much blood.” His hands were under her eyes, wiping her tears away. “He’s not, he’s _not, he’s not_ —” Madge’s chin was quivering, she couldn’t see straight. Her entire body felt like it was going to collapse. “We have to _do_ something!” she plead. “ _Please_!”

“Madge—”

“You once told me we have power,” she grit out. Her eyes were cold. “That we have to use in the right way. Fitz, we have to do something!” Madge swallowed back a sob, nearly falling to her knees. “ _Please_.” He searched her eyes for a moment before letting her go and starting for the stairs. “Fitz,” she croaked, but he kept going, taking the stairs two at a time.

Madge pressed her hands to her face and looked around the room, trying to think of something, _anything_ that could help. Madge knew the Capitol had a blood supply for Victors, when they won and had lost too much blood they would replenish them, but did their own small doctor’s office in District 12 have that? Probably not. As she was debating what to do Fitz returned, a small cardboard box in his hands.

“Take this,” he told her, passing it over. Madge blinked at him, confused. “It’s morphling.”

“Mom—”

“Doesn’t need all of it,” he told her. “They can’t catch me with it, I’d get in a shit ton of trouble. But you, _you_ can take it.” Madge fumbled with the box, nodding and starting back to the door. “Don’t get caught, though, still.” She nodded once and opened the door. “Everdeens,” he reminded her. And then she was gone.


	14. Chapter 14

****They let her inside, but Peeta kept her away. “Let Mrs. Everdeen work,” he told her. Madge was pressed on her toes, trying to peer over Peeta’s shoulder to see Gale. Peeta rested his hands on her shoulders. “Let her work,” Peeta said again. Madge stepped away, rubbing her eyes. “He’s going to be alright, Madge,” he insisted.

He forced her to sit down and got her some tea. Madge had only been in Katniss’s new home in Victor’s Village a few times, she was still overwhelmed with the enormity of it. Bigger than her own. She sipped the tea, glancing toward the kitchen and wincing every time there was a cry of pain. Peeta grabbed her hand and sighed, trying to keep her distracted. Finally Katniss emerged from the kitchen, her face twisted in regret. She tilted her head toward her and Madge stood, leaving her tea on the table and rushing in.

The moment she saw him a gasp clawed up her throat. She lifted her hand to her mouth to stop but her chin still quivered, her eyes still filled with tears. His entire back was _shredded_ , layers of skin sat on top, covered with a layer of snow.

“We can’t put the bandages on just yet,” Prim told her quietly. Madge stooped down to Gale’s side and grabbed his hand, taking deep breaths. Peeta got her a chair and she sank into it wordlessly, transferring her gaze to his face rather than focusing on his back. “The medicine really helped,” Prim said. “But, he probably won’t wake up for a while.”

“That’s okay,” Madge said, not tearing her eyes from him. “I don’t have anywhere to be.”

Four hours later when Gale finally stirred, wincing only slightly as Prim applied a new snow coat, he saw Madge sitting beside him. “Madge?” Gale blinked a few times, trying to make sure it was really her. She nodded, her fingers stretching out to brush his cheeks. “What the hell are you doing here?” he asked, his voice thick with sleep.

After a moment of forcing her brain to work she managed to whisper, “Offering my support.”

“That’s my job,” Gale murmured, his eyes drifting shut as a smile took his face. “Not yours.” Madge laughed lightly and lifted his hand, kissing his knuckles as he fell back asleep.

**

Gale woke up the next morning, slightly more lucid than last night. “You were right,” he murmured. The kitchen was quiet, people were talking amongst themselves. “About what’s happening.” He strained his neck to kiss her and then demanded she go home. “I’m come when this is all over.”

“Swear it,” she commanded.

“Swear it,” Gale exhaled. She kissed the top of his head and left him on the Everdeens kitchen table. On the walk out Katniss hugged her, thanking her again and again in a quiet, quick voice, before letting her go on her way.

Fitz was on the couch when she got there. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. “I thought you’d be home last night,” he croaked, clearly still half asleep. Madge shook off all the snow that she’d collected on the walk over, it was hard to trudge through to get back. “How is he?”

“You lied to me,” Madge said. Fitz frowned. “You knew something was happening and you _lied_ to me.” Fitz stood from the couch, shaking his head. “I asked you, point blank, if something was going on and you said _no_. But you knew.” Fitz strode toward her but she held her hands out, not allowing him to get any closer. She yanked her boots off. “We could’ve stopped this,” she growled, tugging off her coat and throwing it on the coat rack. “Don’t talk to me.”

“Madge—”

“Don’t _talk_ to me,” she said again, finally getting all of her outerwear off. She started for the stairs but stopped, looking at him over her shoulder. “You’re the one that wanted to make a difference here,” she whispered. “Where’d that guy go?”

“It’s more complicated than that,” Fitz tried, but she shook her head.

“It really isn’t.” She went up the stairs without saying another thing.

**

Madge didn’t talk to her brother for four days. Finally, while she was waiting in the mudroom for Gale because _maybe he’d come today_ , Fitz sat down beside her.

“There have been rebellions in 8 out of the 12 districts,” he told her in a voice so quiet she had to focus to hear him. “I never thought things would change here, because there was no reason for it. District 12 was subdued, we have no reason to act out. Especially now with the new head.” He tugged on his hair. “I knew we’d be getting a new Head Peacekeeper, it just never crossed my mind that things would change this much.” Fitz looked at her. “I’m sorry.” He scratched his chin. “If I could take Gale’s place, I would. But I can’t. And I’m sorry.”

She forgave him, simply because she missed him. “Nothing we can do about it now,” she said back, leaning onto him.

“Madge, there’s something else,” he whispered. She turned to him, finding fear in his eyes. As quietly as he could he told her, “Our house is bugged.” Not the mudroom, where they were currently sitting, as it wasn’t seen as a huge conversational place. But everywhere else, mostly. “Be careful what you say.”


	15. Chapter 15

Gale finally showed up three weeks after his whipping.

“There’s a curfew now,” he told her as they sat out on her porch, though she already knew. Madge hangs on every one of his words because hearing his voice is a blessing now. “I couldn’t come at night and I’ve been sleeping most of the day, healing. Mrs. E’s orders.” His hands are cold as she holds them. “And then I went to go back to the mines, finally, but they’re shut down.”

“What?”

“Thread closed them. No one knows why but people are panicking. It’s a mess.” Gale’s face was riddled with exhaustion. Even after rubbing his eyes a few times he couldn’t shake the tiredness from his body. “The fence is on,” Gale continued. “Full time. So I can’t even go in the woods. And we can’t even talk to the other miners because groups larger than three besides immediate family are immediately disbanded by Peacekeepers.” Madge rested her forehead against his arm. “I don’t know what to do,” he exhaled. “There’s nothing I can do.”

“That’s not true,” Madge tried. She didn’t like the way his voice was filled with hopelessness. Gale was always so full of fire, hearing him resigned and tired made her heart ache. She supposed that the whipping must’ve taken a lot out of him. “There’s going to be another opportunity,” she went on. “There has to be.”

“I’m just tired of waiting for it,” he sighed. Gale reached over, sliding his arm around her shoulders so she was in his grasp. Madge tilted her head up and he looked down, smiling. “I’m sorry it took me so long to come over.” She opened her mouth to respond but he bent down, pressing his lips to her forehead. “I missed you,” Gale murmured.

Madge let out an airy laugh before smiling. “I missed you too,” she admitted. Gale bent down again, this time kissing her gently. She pressed herself up to deepen the kiss, reveling in the low groan in his throat. “Gale,” she whispered when they parted. “You should stay tonight.”

He blinked a few times, pressing his forehead to hers. “What?”

“With me,” Madge elaborated. Still, he looked at her confused. “I just—I mean, I haven’t seen you in so long and if you don’t have anything to do tomorrow…” she started rambling, her words faster and faster. “We don’t, I don’t want to, like, _do_ anything, but I just, I’ve missed you and I’ve been so worried about everything that I can’t sleep and—”

“Madge,” he sighed, looking away. Gale pulled his head back and glanced out across the snow covered yard. “It’s not a good idea.”

“My dad doesn’t wake up until late so you could sneak out before he even knew, and my mom doesn’t ever leave her room, and if Bernard knew he wouldn’t say anything and—”

“It’s not a good idea,” Gale said again, his voice soft. He finally looked back at her, disappointment in his eyes. Madge gnawed on her bottom lip, eventually dipping her head in hesitant agreement. She knew it wasn’t necessarily planned out and very out of left field, but she’d give anything just to wake up beside Gale, to have him close. Suddenly Gale let out a deep breath. “Okay.”

“Okay? Okay, what?”

“Okay, I’ll stay.” Gale said. Madge lifted her eyebrows and he shrugged. “I missed you,” he told her. “I haven’t seen you in _forever_ and you saved my life and if this is what you want—”

“Wait, wait, wait,” she turned in her seat. “You don’t _owe me_ , Gale.” He opened his mouth but she shook her head another time. “No. If you want to stay, that would be great, but you can’t just because you think you _owe_ me.” Gale sucked his teeth and looked away from her. His jaw was set, she knew he was upset. “Listen, about the morphling—”

“It _saved_ my _life_ ,” Gale cut her off. There was fire in his eyes as he looked at her. “If you hadn’t brought it, Madge, I would’ve—I would’ve died! You don’t understand what it was like, and God I hope you never do.” His words were hard, his voice was cold. “And the second they gave me the morphling, it was like I could _breathe_ again, it was like I’d been given a second chance.” Madge tried to look away but he grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. “I can’t _ever_ repay you for that,” he grumbled. “Ever.”

“ _I don’t want you to_ ,” she enunciated, trying to give him back just as much bite. “You don’t have to  _repay me_ for that, Gale.” He let go of her and reached up, rubbing at his face with a groan. “That’s not—that isn’t how the world _works_.”

“Maybe not your world,” he muttered.

“So, what, you’re just going to keep doing little things for me because you think you owe it to me?”

“No, Madge—”

“That’s what you said, Gale.” He groaned again, rubbing at his face another time. “Right now, you just told me you would do things for me because I wanted it. That’s you ‘paying me back’ for something I did because I care about you. Because I was scared out of my _mind_.” Gale sucked his teeth another time, looking away from her and not knowing what to say back. Finally she sighed, grabbing his hand. “Gale,” she started. “I just, I don’t want you to do things for me, or with me, because you think you have to.” Slowly he turned to her, his eyes dark. “I want you to do things with me because you _want_ to. Because you _want_ to stay with me, or be with me, or—”

“I _do_ ,” he told her quietly. “I do want to stay with you.” And not just because he thought it was part of paying her back (though to himself it might have been). Needing to get away from this conversation, Gale pulled her close again. “Ma already knows I’m here.” She got suspicious after he’d been sneaking out a few nights a week, and frankly she panicked thinking he was drinking or going to the slagheap, so Gale just admitted he was seeing Madge. Hazelle was happy for him but told him to be careful, it wasn’t easy to date someone like the mayor’s daughter. “I want to,” Gale said again, looking into her eyes to make sure she knew it.

“Okay,” she sighed. Gale tilted his head to the side and gave her a look. “O _kay_ ,” Madge said again, smiling just a little. She had hope they’d make it out of this.

**

Gale borrowed a pair of fleece pants from Fitz (without permission, obviously, because there was no way in _hell_ Fitz would let Gale stay the night if he knew) and an old t-shirt. They both changed in Madge’s closet at separate times, but even just seeing Madge in her pajamas made Gale’s mouth water. Her hair was flowing down her shoulders, the nightgown she wore made her legs look longer. She climbed into bed and motioned for him to join her.

Easing on the mattress, Gale was careful not to lay on his back. It was how he normally slept but with the whipping he hadn’t been able to, and if he did Gale would wake up sore.

“Here,” Gale pulled her close, draping his arm across her stomach and pulling Madge so her back was against her chest. Madge sighed and wiggled backwards some. He could _definitely_ get used to this. Madge could feel his warm breath in her ear, Gale could smell her shampoo. She’d wanted to stay up all night and talk, but this was much better. She could understand him even though he wasn’t speaking. Madge and Gale shared warmth as though they were sharing secrets. “Goodnight,” he whispered.

**

He woke up before the sun, as per usual. Gale shifted slightly, waking Madge who squinted into the darkness to find him. He smiled at her, bending down and pressing his lips to her forehead. “Morning,” he murmured. Madge frowned, shaking her head, and rolling into his grasp. She nuzzled into his chest and he chuckled, bringing her close. “How’d you sleep?” he asked.

“Shhh,” Madge scolded him. “Back to bed.”

Gale smiled and bent down to kiss the top of her head. “I should go.”

Madge peeled back and looked at him. “The sun’s not even up.”

“I don’t want your dad—”

“The sun’s not even up,” Madge said again, her voice as sad as her eyes. Gale let out a deep breath, snuggling closer under the covers. Her smile returned, but it wasn’t as bright. “Just a little bit longer,” she whispered, reaching up to brush her fingers over his cheek. Gale nodded, leaning down to kiss her. This time when he pulled away her smile was magnificent. Madge curled into his chest, and Gale closed his eyes, and they both fell back to sleep.

**

She woke up to him moving around again. Madge squinted into the sunlight that was now streaming through her windows and checked the clock. It was still early, Gale could still sneak out before her dad knew. When he saw she was awake Gale grinned, dipping down to kiss her.

“Thanks,” he murmured against her lips. “I needed this.”

She smiled back, arching into his form and pulling him on top of her to deepen the kiss. Gale groaned into her mouth and propped himself up with his hand as she cupped his cheeks. They kissed desperately, Madge careful not to touch his back but digging her nails into his shoulders, Gale urging her to wrap her legs around his hips. He pressed her into the mattress and burned kisses down her throat. Gale savored her warmth, the taste of her lips, the feel of her skin.

His hands found their way to her calves, carefully inching up her thighs, when the door suddenly swung open.

“Madge I can’t find my favorite coffee mug and—” Gale parted from Madge so quickly he nearly fell off the bed, and Madge sat up with wide eyes to find Fitz in the doorway. Fitz looked between the two of them before sighing. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Get out,” Madge frowned, grabbing a pillow and tossing it at her brother. “Go!”

Fitz caught it with a frown. “Dad’s in the hall.”

“Get _in_ ,” Madge hissed. He smirked, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind him. Gale groaned and collapsed face first on the mattress. “Fitzgerald Gregory Undersee I will murder you _so bad_ if you say _anything_. And I don’t know where your stupid coffee mug is.”

Fitz’s smirk eased into a sleepy smile as he rubbed his eyes. “I’m too tired to yell at either of you,” he admitted. “God, you guys are stupid.” Madge reached over to toy with the hairs on the back of Gale’s neck considering he was trying to melt into the mattress. He turned his head slightly with a frown to look at her. She shrugged. “I’ll be your dumb look-out, okay?”

“Thanks, big brother,” Madge smiled. “C’mon,” she nudged Gale who groaned again and rolled out of bed.

“Just be quick.” Fitz sighed. He gave Gale a look. “Are those my pajamas?”

“Well he certainly couldn’t wear _mine_ ,” Madge returned, pushing Gale towards the closet to change. Once he was in the closet changing Madge strode over to her brother. “Thank you,” she said again. “It was sort of a spontaneous thing.”

“Did you have sex?” Fitz asked as quietly as he could. “Because I’m pretty sure you don’t have protection and if you got pregnant—”

“No,” she cut him off, her eyes wide and her cheeks hot. “No, I did not, but thank you.”

“I can get you stuff, you know,” Fitz went on.

“I think we’re okay for now,” Madge said. Her face was on fire and Fitz reached up, pinching her cheek. Gale emerged from the closet fully dressed. He tipped his head at Fitz who smirked again before ducking outside. “Well,” Madge stepped toward Gale and straightened out his shirt. “At least he’s not mad?”

“Mm,” Gale agreed tiredly, leaning down to kiss her quickly. Fitz came back in to sneak Gale down and away. Out on the back porch Gale turns to him. “It just kind of happened,” Gale tells him.

Fitz shrugged, “Not my business.” Fitz smiled, then, and Gale left the Undersees feeling completely refreshed.


	16. Chapter 16

The next week or so was absolutely wonderful. Madge went over to Gale’s more often so he didn’t have to make the trek and he got to see her with his siblings. Posy adored her and Vick thought she was pretty and Rory tried to make her his best friend without openly admitting it. Hazelle loved her too, which made Gale happy beyond belief. He would walk her home, holding her small hand in his and keeping her close.

And things were great. Really, really great. Until the Quell was announced.

After that he disappeared, and Fitz was so busy with his training that Madge hardly saw him. The mines opened back up and Madge had to return to school, but trying to focus was useless because her mind was all over the place. Gale finally came over one evening after work, profusely apologizing for his absence.

“The mines are worse than before,” he told her. “I still don’t think my back’s healed all the way but we need the money.” Gale didn’t listen to her pleas to go on bed rest for just a little longer. “The conditions down there are awful, and the day is longer than before.” Even with the cold fading now that they were heading into spring Gale explained how tired he was, and how useless things seemed to be now that he couldn’t go in the woods. “I spend all day Sunday at the Everdeens, teaching them all snares and knots.”

“It’s alright,” Madge insisted, but he disagreed.

“How can I make it up to you?”

“Gale,” she grabbed his hands and squeezed tightly. “You don’t have to make anything up to me. I get why you’ve been gone.” Peeta and Katniss had been training nonstop since the Quell was announced, and no matter if it was Haymitch or Peeta chosen, Katniss would be seeing the arena again. “I understand.”

“That’s not good enough,” he shook his head.

Madge explained to him that just that week Peeta had come over, asking her if she could help in any way. She was going to start coming over on Sunday’s too, to go through Capitol papers Fitz would steal for her to see if they could learn anything about prediction rates or the possible future arena.

“Maybe Sunday afternoons or evenings we can start doing something,” Madge said. Gale still seemed frustrated, but agreed that it was better than nothing. “I just miss seeing you,” she told him in a tiny voice.

Gale kissed her, then, harder than he had in a long time. But it didn’t feel right, and both of them noticed.

**

Sundays were nice, only not really, because while Madge got to see Gale at the end of them the mornings and afternoons were filled with training. No matter what happened, two would be returning to the arena, and probably not make it out this time. Definitely not together.

One day while Madge was in the kitchen looking out the window over the sink at Peeta and Prim running around the backyard and laughing during a break, she overheard Gale in the dining room with Katniss. She didn’t catch all of the conversation, and she didn’t want to, but when Madge heard her name she paused.

“If you’re so tired that even coming out here exhausts you, how are you holding up a relationship?” Katniss wondered.

“After everything Madge has done for me, I feel like I owe it to her,” Gale said. Madge tensed up. “Don’t you?” Madge didn’t hear Katniss’s response. She left the kitchen through the opposite exit and went outside, sitting on the back porch and watching Prim and Peeta run.

At the end of the day Gale walked her home like he did every Sunday. Before they got to her house she stopped him, knowing the path to the Seam was just up ahead and he could take that rather than take her all the way home.

“It’s not too far,” Gale told her. “I really don’t mind.”

“Gale,” she shook her head and took a deep breath. “I heard you talking to Katniss today.” He blinked a few times, not completely understanding. “I’ve spent a lot of my time trying to convince myself that you actually want to be with me.”

“What are you talking about?”

Madge rubbed the bridge of her nose, looking over her shoulder as though she was scared someone else was listening. “I just, I feel like every time you’re with me you’re there out of obligation.” He furrowed his eyebrows, taking a step toward her. “You don’t owe me,” Madge said, for what felt like the thousandth time. “And I’m… I’m really tired of feeling like everything you do is because of that one thing I did for you months ago.”

“Madge,” Gale reached out for her but she took a step back.

“I—I just, I can’t stop thinking about it. What you said to me, how you’d never be able to repay me. When I look at it from a few steps back it just, it feels like everything you’ve done for me was _because_ of that.” The way he didn’t argue made her heart sink. “I think that this… that we need to be put on pause for a while.”

He dragged one of his hands through his hair. “Do you mean that?”

“Are you going to disagree with what I said?” she responded. When he didn’t she nodded. “Then I mean that.” Madge blinked hard to make her eyes stop burning. “I really care about you,” Madge whispered. “A lot. And that’s—that’s why I brought you the morphling all that time ago, and that’s why I want you to stay the night, and that’s why I want to spend time with you. But—”

“You think I don’t _care_ about you?” Gale growled. “ _Madge_ , come _on_.”

“That’s not, I don’t know.” She shook her head, pressing her hands to her cheeks to calm herself down. “I don’t know, Gale. I just think, I mean we don’t really see each other that often anyway and it… maybe it’s just not the right time.” He stood a few feet from her, his arms awkwardly at his sides. “Are you going to disagree with anything I’m saying?” she asked.

He threw out his hands, “You don’t want me to.”

Madge stared at him, begging the tears forming in her eyes not to fall. “I guess we came to that bridge after all,” she murmured, “huh?”

Gale walked toward her, cupping her cheeks and tilting her head back before giving her one last kiss. “You’ve still got my support whenever you need it,” he whispered before pulling away. Madge watched Gale walk into the Seam without looking back.

**

“So…” Fitz pushed his way into Madge’s bedroom without knocking, a cup of hot chocolate in his hand with so much whipped cream on top it was going to fall over the sides if he took one wrong step. “I saw Bernard making this and knew it wasn’t for dad. He said you requested it.” Fitz kicked the door shut behind him. “What happened?” Madge takes a deep breath to start but then tears well up in her eyes. Fitz handed her the mug as she blinked away tears. “I’m going to kill him. Okay?”

A wet laugh escaped her. “No. No, it was me. It was my choice.” Madge blew on the top of her drink, though with all the whipped cream it probably wasn’t doing much. “I just wish he’d fought me on it.” Madge took a sip as Fitz settled down beside her. “It’s for the best,” Madge told him, keeping her voice as steady as she could. “I really believe that.”

“Alright,” Fitz whispered. He slung his arm over her shoulder carefully and Madge scooted closer. “I am sorry, though.” She lifted her shoulders half-heartedly, taking another drink. “Well, you’ve always got me.”

“Oh, thank God,” Madge laughed into her cup.


	17. Chapter 17

The reaping came sooner than anyone expected. It was a hot day and Fitz was on stage with the mayor, a step in his training. Madge had to keep her jaw locked to stop her chin from quivering. Peeta volunteered for Haymitch. Her eyes were stinging. She wished Gale was closer to her but she saw him a few rows forward across the aisle.

Madge gave the three-fingered salute just as everyone else did, trying her absolute hardest not to cry. The train left without letting anyone say goodbye.

**

She spent a lot of time watching her TV. There weren’t any updates but she wrote down the names of all the other tributes and tried to figure out who would be the hardest competition. It wouldn’t help Katniss and Peeta now but at least it kept Madge busy.

“Margaret,” she heard Bernard say. She turned, finding him in the doorway to the living room where she was watching replays. “There’s someone here to see you.”

With furrowed eyebrows Madge stood, taking her notes with her, and followed him to the backdoor. Gale stood with his hands in his pockets and a frown on his face. Madge shut the door behind her as she exited, and before she could ask what he was doing here he lifted his shoulders.

“I didn’t know where else to go,” he told her quietly. They sat on the porch steps together, neither of them speaking. Madge rested her head against his shoulder. It wasn’t much, but it was all they had.

**

“Madge, wake up.” Fitz was shaking her shoulders. She jolted awake, her vision fuzzy with sleep. She hadn’t been sleeping well so she made Bernard brew her some chamomile tea to help her. It knocked her out quickly and early, she went to bed hours ago. “We’ve got to go.”

“What?”

“We’ve got to go,” he said again. His voice was full of a panic she hadn’t heard before. “Now. Come on, get dressed.”

“What?” she asked again. Fitz was going through her drawers, pulling out clothes for her to change into. “Fitz what’s going on?”

“Peacekeepers just pulled out,” he told her. “Come on, get up.” Madge pushed herself out of bed, still half-asleep. “We’ve got to go. It can only mean one thing.” She fumbled over herself, pulling her shorts on underneath her nightgown and turning around to pull on her top. “We’re going to the meadow,” he said.

“Fitz, I don’t,” she shook her head, clearly confused. He threw a pair of socks at her and waved his hand, frequently glancing toward the window. “What’s happening?” she asked another time. Before he could answer they felt the ground shake below their feet. Madge looked up at him with wide eyes, extending her arms to steady herself. _“Fitz?”_

“They’re bombing us,” he croaked. “We’ve got to now. _Now_.”

**

By the time they made it to the meadow, avoiding every major street and running with all their might, their entire district was nothing but fire and ash. Madge burned the sight into her memory, standing on her wobbling legs and staring at the smoke that billowed in the sky. Their father wasn’t home when they ran, apparently he went to the Justice Hall. Their mother had taken a dose or morphling and couldn’t be woken. They managed to get Bernard to come with them, but as far as Madge knew she was now an orphan.

Fitz stood beside her as she stared. Tears carved a trail down her ash-stained cheeks, revealing her pale skin below the dust. He placed his hand on her shoulder and pulled her toward him. “We’ve got to keep walking,” Fitz told her. She nodded in agreement, they had to keep going, but Madge was still heaving for air from their run and she was terrified her legs would give out if she took another step. “Come on,” he said. Fitz pulled Madge along with him whether she was ready to go or not.

They were a few of the only blondes in the sea of dark haired residents of the Seam. What had even happened? Fitz told her as they left their home that Katniss had fired into the force field and then everything went black. Was she dead? Was Peeta? What happened? No one knew. No one could possibly know.

Somewhere in the crowd stood Gale with his family. His entire body ached, but knowing his family was alive and with him kept him putting one foot in front of the other. He was tired. He was so tired he didn’t think he’d be able to last much longer. Gale refused to look over his shoulder. He didn’t want to see what was left, because he knew there was nothing.

Both Madge and Gale thought about one another that night as they settled down to sleep, if only briefly, and hoped that they were safe.


	18. Chapter 18

He found her the next day by accident. He wasn't really paying attention, just casually glancing around as he and Thom went surveying the area and the people, looking for those with injuries to take to Prim and Mrs. Everdeen. In the back of his head he'd been worrying horribly over Madge, but to keep himself focused on the present and he demanded his attention elsewhere. But he knew it was her immediately, the way her hair was tied up in that messy bun she always used when she was desperate to keep her hair out of her face. Despite the ash that stained her clothes and skin he _knew_ it was Madge Undersee. 

And then he was sprinting. 

“Madge,” he croaked. His calves still hurt from the run the night before and his throat was sore from yelling. “ _Madge_!” She heard her name and turned, finding Gale moving toward her. There was fire in his eyes, relief on his face, and the sight of him caused her to fall to pieces.

“Gale!”

And then she was sprinting too.

They collided like a force of nature. He scooped her into his arms and spun, pulling her as close as he possibly could. Madge latched her arms around his neck and breathed him in, the sweat and ash and pine, savoring absolutely all of it. They stumbled when he placed her back on the ground, his hand cupping the back of her head as he kept her against him, their bodies molding together. Both of them were shaking. Gale only moved away so he could see her face, so he could be _sure_ it was her. And when it was he laughed, and she laughed too.

“You’re okay,” he whispered, his voice wavering.

“So are you,” she breathed. And then he was hugging her again, overwhelmed with frustration that she wasn't close enough and filled with relief that she was.

**

Fitz and Madge moved their camp to be with the Hawthornes and Everdeens toward the center. Mrs. Everdeen and Prim were busy patching everyone up and Rory kept his younger siblings busy. The Cartwrights were camping nearby, they were some of the only others from town that made it out and they, too, lost their parents with the bombs.

“Have you seen Zach?” Madge asked her brother when they were as alone as they were going to be in a new world without walls. Fitz was looking around at that exact moment, his eyes peeled for his boyfriend, as he shook his head. “We don’t know for sure,” Madge insisted.

“I don’t think he’s here, Madge.” She saw his eyes welling up and reached over, grabbing his hands in hers. “I should’ve—I should’ve known what was happening,” he croaked. She shook her head but Fitz persisted. “There were only so many things the Capitol could do in retaliation of the rebellion. We’re the Mockingjay’s home _district_ and we’re _small_ and we’re _weak_ I should’ve _known_!”

“You can’t blame yourself for this, Fitz,” Madge told him. “I know it hurts.” Her own eyes were starting to fill with tears. Both of their parents were _gone_. Their entire home. Almost everyone they knew. “But you can’t carry the world on your shoulders. You can’t save everyone.”

Fitz hated that response.  _But I want to_ , he thought as he dropped his head into his hands.  _But I want to_.

**

Madge woke in the middle of the night to a nightmare. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at Fitz beside her who was squinting in her direction, woken by her movement. “I just need some air,” she told him, and he nodded sleepily and rolled over. Madge pushed herself to stand and walked toward the fence to collect herself.

District 12 was still smoking, dark clouds billowed above it. She wrapped her arms around herself and took a deep breath. “Hey,” she heard. Madge looked over her shoulder to find Gale slowly walking toward her. “Heard you get up.”

“Just needed some air,” she told him. He nodded but kept walking. When Gale reached her she leaned against his arm. After a moment of silence he pulled her down to sit. Madge felt the cool air from the summer night and held onto it as she listened to the chirping of the bugs. In thatmoment things were peaceful. But she knew they wouldn't always be. “Gale,” she breathed.

“Hm?”

“What do we do now?” she asked. Madge looked up at him, her eyebrows furrowed together. “Where do we go?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted after a bit. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, and she nestled herself into his side. “But we'll be okay,” he whispered, his breath in her ear. Madge let out a little laugh before turning to look at him. “What’s so funny?” he mused. 

“You don’t believe that,” she told him, a smile still on her face. “That we’ll be okay.” Before he could respond she reached up, cupping the back of his head, her fingers teasing the hair on his neck. “But thank you for telling me so anyway."

When their lips met in a kiss it was as though they hadn’t even stopped. Gale cradled her cheeks and she crawled onto his lap, her legs falling around his hips. She fisted his shirt in attempt to bring him closer, breathing in his air and he breathed in hers. It was full of desperation yet somehow soft, gentle. His lips were chapped but warm, his fingertips danced across her cheeks.

“Madge?” they both heard. It took them a second to part and he pressed his forehead to hers. "Gale," they heard a moment after.

Madge kept her eyes on Gale as he turned, smiling at the boy who’d found them. “Fitz,” he nodded.

Fitz smiled as Madge finally looked in his direction. “I thought something might be wrong when you didn’t come back,” he murmured with a yawn. “Shoulda figured.” Madge bit down on her bottom lip and turned to Gale again. “Just have her back by sunrise,” Fitz said, starting back for camp.

“No promises,” Gale called after him.

**

It all happened so quickly. First they had no home, then the woods were their home, and then District 13 arrived to _take_ them home. A place of security, safety. A place where Katniss Everdeen survived the arena and was being held. A place preparing for war.

Fitz and Madge had their own unit, Bernard a separate one (though they sat at the same table in the cafeteria). They had beds again, food, moderately warm showers. After everyone was checked in, it was confirmed that Mayor Undersee hadn’t made it out of the district. Neither had Fitz’s boyfriend Zach. Only about 900 people made it to District 13. Sometimes Madge didn’t feel like one of the lucky ones.

But sometimes she did. Like when Gale would pull her away into a supply closet, pressing her against the wall as he stole kisses. Or when she found Fitz laughing with one of the pilots of the District 13 hovercrafts. Or when Posy would braid her hair and fall asleep in her lap.

One night Fitz pulled her aside. “They want me to join Command,” he told her. “They say I know how a government is run, that I could have insight to the situation.”

Madge nodded. “Okay. Like, with Katniss and Gale?”

“Sort of. I mean I’m more behind the scenes.”

“Okay,” Madge nodded again. “That’s okay.”

Fitz smirked at her. “I wasn’t asking for permission, Madge, I was just letting you know.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “Well in that case, you don’t have my permission.”

Fitz laughed and shook his head. He explained to her how President Coin scared the living shit out him, maybe even more than President Snow. At least with Snow Fitz knew what he was getting into. Coin was a mystery and it terrified him. There was something about her that made him uneasy.

“I’m just happy to have something to do again,” he admitted.

Madge was being trained as a standard soldier. She wasn’t very good at first but over time her body adjusted to the running and the use of guns. Her aim was improving and she didn't always wake up sore. One day Gale kept her from her history class because he’d been so busy lately he hadn’t gotten to see her. 

“I don’t want it to be like last time,” Gale murmured. “I want to see you as often as I can, I want you to know that I’m in this. One hundred percent.” Madge couldn’t get enough of the way he would look at her, his gray eyes dark and hooded and _wanting_. “Is that clear?”

“No more talk about repaying debts,” she whispered. He agreed wholeheartedly, letting her know by kissing down her throat. Madge slid her hands up under his standard-issued shirt and he groaned against her collarbone.

She arched against him, his own hands teasing the skin on her lower back as her own shirt lifted. Madge pressed upwards, feeling the planes of his chest beneath her fingertips, easing the stupid piece of fabric higher and higher.

“Madge,” he panted. “Wait.” She looked up at him as he inched away, grabbing her hands. Gale cupped her cheeks with her own hands, resting his atop hers. “I want this,” he told her quietly, his lips curving in a smile. “I want _you_. But I don’t think we should get too carried away in a supply closet that doesn't have a lock on the door. Alright?"

“Mm,” she whined, resting her head backwards against the wall. “Fine.” Gale grinned, leaning down to kiss her another time. “But sometimes Fitz stays out late and…”

“ _Madge_ ,” he laughed. District 13 was far from perfect, but at times she felt it might be. 


	19. Chapter 19

When he told her he’d been designing weapons, Madge avoided him for two days. She understood, sort of, but it mades her chest tight anyway. _It evens the playing field_ , Gale insisted, and she knew that, but it still didn’t feel _right_. How would Gale know who the bombs would be used against? Did he get the final call?

“Just think about the repercussions behind it,” Madge plead. “Innocent people, children could die from things like this!”

“No one in the Capitol is innocent,” Gale growled.

She grabbed his cheeks. “Look at me and tell me you believe that one hundred percent,” she whispered. “That no one in the Capitol is innocent. That _every_ _single_ _one_ of them deserves to die.” The children, the newborns, the ones that didn't _understand_. The avoxes who knew how cruel things were but were forced to stay. The prisoners. Those who worked against the government in small ways. Those who  _knew_  of the injustice. Gale stared at her. Hard. And she waited for him to speak. “Word for word.”

Gale yanked from her grip and strode away from her, dragging his hands through his hair. “I have to do this,” he told her, but he couldn’t look at her. Gale left, and she didn’t follow. And then for two days they danced around one another before Gale caved. “I can’t fucking focus,” he hissed, dragging his hands through his hair. “Why don’t you understand that we need this?”

“I understand that we need weapons,” Madge told him. “But I don’t know why it has to be you that designs them.”

He took a deep breath, shaking his head. "I thought we always had each other's support?" he asked. There was anger in her eyes, but she supposed she tried to guilt trip him earlier too. 

“This is just something we’ll have to disagree on,” Madge told him. He sighed, leaving the room with a scowl. Gale didn't mention his designs again.

**

When Peeta was rescued they wanted Madge to talk to him. Gale and Fitz both _flipped out_. Neither one of them wanted her in the same room as Peeta, not after he tried to strangle Katniss, absolutely _not_. But she pleaded with both of them, saying they could watch her from the window, saying she _needed to do this_. And finally, they let her.

Peeta yelled at her but Madge stood her ground. Taftan was brought up. When Madge started to cry and Fitz demanded they pull her out, Peeta suddenly softened. He stared at Madge with wide blue eyes, watching tears roll down her cheeks, and something in him changed.

“Madge,” Peeta whispered. She wiped her eyes and sniffled. “I can feel it in me.” She stepped toward him and Gale felt his heart in his throat. Madge reached out and grabbed Peeta’s hands. “I can feel it,” Peeta said again, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“We’re going to fix you,” Madge told him. “Just be patient, okay? And _hold on_.”

“I’ll…” Peeta blinked hard. “I’ll try.”

**

Before anyone knew what was happening, the Star Squad (451) was leaving. Madge couldn’t sleep for the days leading up to it. Fitz had started letting Gale stay over to be with Madge. He would hold her close, whisper that things would be okay and that he _meant it_ this time.

“We’re gonna win this war,” Gale told her. “Then we can start over. Then we can stop living in fear.” Madge kept her eyes closed as he spoke to her, wanting to remember the sound of his voice, savoring the way his closeness made her feel. “Where’ve you always wanted to go?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” she wondered, opening her eyes to look at him.

“Another district, maybe.”

“Four, I guess,” Madge told him. “I’ve love to go to District Four. Be on the beach.” Madge didn’t know what to expect with the beach, but whenever Victors from D4 would come to her house she’d listen to them talk about how they missed home, the warm sand and salty water. “I want to see the ocean.”

“We’ll go to the ocean, then,” Gale told her. He reveled in the way her eyes lit up. “What do you think? Just you and me.”

“I’d have to talk to Fitz,” Madge tried, and Gale laughed, pressing a kiss to her nose. “Yes,” she cupped his cheeks. “I’d love that. I’d love to.” He grinned and lifted himself so he was hovering over her, then kissed her until she saw stars.

There was a knock on the door and Gale groaned, pushing himself off of Madge as Fitz entered the room. “Stop being all cute and couple-y,” he muttered. “It’s gross.” But there was a smile in his voice that Madge could hear, and that made it okay.

When they sent Gale off the next day she felt her heart breaking. Fitz stayed by her side and they watched the hovercraft door shut together. 

**

A week after the Star Squad left, Fitz was recruited as well. Madge begged him not to go but he told her that he didn’t have a choice. “My unit’s going, Madge. There’s nothing I can do about it.” And she cried and he held her, promising he’d be back like Gale had said. He left that night and her compartment was so empty she felt like she was suffocating.


	20. Chapter 20

The TVs in the cafeteria broadcasted that everyone in the Star Squad was dead.

Madge searched frantically for more information but no one would give her anything. There was talk that 451 made it out alive but it didn’t seem too hopeful. She didn’t even have Fitz to talk to, and while Delly was a great listener it wasn’t the same. If 451 was dead then not only Gale was gone, but Peeta and Katniss too, as well as Finnick who though Madge didn’t talk to often was always kind to her when he did.

She paced the halls frantically trying to calm herself but 13 felt small and she couldn’t breathe. Madge ended up in her compartment, staring at Fitz’s bed, curled into herself. When the tears came she didn’t even try to stop them.

**

Madge’s own unit deployed three days before the end of the war. She got along with most of the girls but they didn’t have too much time to be chummy. They marched all the time, guns drawn while their troop leader shouted commands as though they were doing drills. Every night Madge would curl in her sleeping bag and pray that Fitz was okay. She couldn’t lose her brother, not after everything she’d already lost.

She was just starting to get used to sleeping on the ground when their troop leader told them the battle at the Capitol had been won. The next day Madge was moved to the Capitol to help with wounded soldiers. Madge was slightly relieved she wouldn’t have to be carrying around a gun anymore, and excited to start using her medical training.

Fitz found her the day that she arrived.

The sight of her brother standing in the crowd made Madge want to weep with joy. If he hadn’t sprinted toward her to pull her into his arms she would’ve collapsed on the ground in a puddle of tears.

“I’ve been waiting here since they said they were bringing in all units,” he told her as he squeezed her close. Fitz winced through his own injury – a bullet wound in the shoulder during the final battle. Fitz admitted his unit had been relatively lucky, they didn’t see much action until the end. “I’m so happy you’re here,” he grinned, still hugging her. “You were deployed?”

“For like a day,” Madge laughed.

“Who would’ve thought the Undersees would be fighting in a war,” he teased, finally pulling away. “I’ve saved a bed for you in the room they’ve placed us,” Fitz told her. They walked toward the President’s Mansion, Madge’s eyes wide as she took everything in. The place was huge. “It’s not our _own_ room, we’ve got to share with a whole bunch of guys from my troop – they’re the friendly ones don’t worry – but it is just down the hall from Gale which was a total accident but I—” Madge stopped him. Crowds of soldiers moved round them. “What?”

“Gale’s here?” she asked.

Fitz blinked a few times before smiling, “Yeah? Where else would he be.” Madge felt her heart pick up in her chest. “He and Finnick are sharing a suite, Katniss and her sister have one too just across the hall. They’re _war heroes_ or something so they get the fanciest—what!” he laughed as she started bouncing on her toes.

“He’s okay? He’s here?”

“Yes!” Fitz said again.

“Can you take me? Take me!” Madge grabbed Fitz’s shoulders and shook him. “Take to me to them!”

**

She burst into Gale and Finnick’s suite without knocking, which was rude, but they were only napping so she didn’t care too much. Since the war had ended they’d been given a few days to recuperate before the final demonstration, Snow’s death.

Gale sat up in bed rubbing his eyes and squinting at the blonde that raced toward him. “Madge?” he rasped. He shook his head in disbelief as she propelled herself onto his bed. “What are you—oh my God!” Gale laughed as her arms latched around his neck. “Oh my God,” Gale repeated, exhaling and letting his eyes drift shut. He melted into her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “You’re here,” he breathed. “Oh my God, you’re here.” She pulled back and grinned, tears filling her eyes as she reached up to cup his cheeks.

“You’re—I thought you—” she couldn’t get it out. _Dead. I thought you were dead_. His lips were on hers immediately, his own smile splitting his face. “You’re okay,” Madge laughed as he frantically gave her open mouthed kisses.

In the doorways Fitz stood, making a sheepish face at Finnick in apology. Finnick shrugged, laughing as his eyes moved back to Madge and Gale.

“What are you doing here?” Gale finally asked her. She quickly told him how her unit was deployed and she should technically be unpacking so she can go down to medical and help but she had to see him she had to know he was okay. “I can’t believe you’re here,” Gale said again, completely breathless.

“Gale just got out of medical,” Finnick chimed from his bed. “He could probably show you where to go.”

Madge looked at Finnick then back at Gale. “Why were you in medical?” Gale took a deep breath and looked away, but she grabbed his cheek and forced her to look at him. “Gale?”

Hesitantly he told her about his part in the final battle at the Capitol, how he and Katniss helped evacuate a group of children from in front of the president’s mansion because he’d gotten word that his bombs would be dropped there. The kids got out safely, there weren’t any deaths from the bomb, but there were some injuries. Gale included.

“Blast knocked me down,” he told her. “I’ve got some decent burns on my back. They’ll be gone in time.”

Madge wouldn’t look away from him, her eyes filled with fear. “You idiot!” she yelled, slamming her hand against his chest. “You could’ve gotten seriously injured! You could’ve _died_! I can’t believe that you—”

Gale grabbed her then and kissed her deeply. Madge whined against his lips but Gale needed this. He _needed_ this. There was more than one time during his time out that he thought he was going to die. He didn’t need that voiced by Madge – that he’d made stupid choices in an attempt to be selfless, to right his wrongs for creating a bomb like he had.

Gale’s hands held her shoulders and Madge lifted hers to the back of his head. Completely oblivious to the fact that that Fitz was still in the doorway and Finnick was in his bed just a few feet away, Madge and Gale kissed like they never would again. Her legs fell around his hips and he moaned, and instantly after Fitz cleared his throat.

They broke apart then but it took them another moment to turn to Fitz. When they pulled away he saw tears in Madge’s eyes, so he reached up and wiped them gently.

“Well if you’re finished,” Fitz said as they turned to look at him. “I can take Madge to medical.”

“I’ll take her,” Gale said, waving him away. “Give us a minute.” And then Gale was kissing her again, this time gently and carefully, as though he was scared the wounds from war would burst open if he was too rough.

“So that’s a no to the being finished,” Fitz smirked.

**

“Are you sure you’re okay with me going?” Madge asked for about the thousandth time.

She and Gale had decided to take a break from the whole efforts of _war_ and help with the reconstruction of the shore down in D4. After everything exploded, Katniss shooting Coin instead of Snow under the information that Coin was corrupt, things went crazy. Katniss had just gotten out of her trial and with Haymitch on the stands arguing the corruption of Coin and the means for the murder, she was sent back to District 12. Peeta went too, but they were still struggling. He was getting better day by day, but it wasn’t something anyone could help him with. He needed to heal on his own.

“ _Yes_ ,” Fitz stressed. Paylor was in charge now, the only viable option and honestly the _best_ option for the reconstruction of Panem. She was a fiercely determined woman who was ready to change things for the better, even giving Fitz a special ‘mission’ of his own. “I’ll be in 12 working on that situation, and you come back whenever you’re ready. Okay?”

She laughed, “I can’t believe you get to be the mayor after all.”

“Twenty one years old and I’m going to run a district,” Fitz laughed too. There wasn’t much left in 12, and he’d be doing a lot of manual labor at the beginning, but before long he’d be in charge with a fancy office and everything. He was ready to go home and start new, make the changes he’d always wanted when he was a kid. “Dad would be proud.”

“He would,” Madge agreed. They hugged tightly and for a long time before they heard Gale call for her. “That’s my cue,” she said as she pulled back. Fitz kissed her on the cheek and then waved at Gale who was waiting for her. “I love you, Fitz.”

“Love you too,” he smiled. “Call me. I mean that. Especially if that idiot starts treating you like shit, or something.” She rolled her eyes at him and his smile stretched into a grin. “I know you two’ll be fine,” Fitz told her. “We’ve been so lucky through this all.”

“We have,” Madge agreed, nodding her head. Fitz pulled her into another hug. “I really have to go,” Madge said, not wanting her eyes to tear up like they were at the thought of leaving her brother.

“I know,” he murmured. “Have fun,” Fitz said when they parted. “Be safe. I love you so much.” Fitz pushed her toward Gale and she wiped her eyes, smiling and waving at her brother as she walked way.

When she got to him Gale reached down, twining their hands together as they started walking toward the hovercraft that would take them to 4. The Victor Village hadn’t been destroyed and was right by the beach, he and Madge had a room in Finnick and Annie’s house while they stayed.

“Are you ready?” he asked her. The excitement in his voice made her incredibly happy, the way his smile was bright and full after all they’d been through convinced her she was in the right place. That she’d made the right choice, going to 4 with him. “I can’t believe it’s over.”

“I can’t believe we made it,” she said back. Soon enough they’d have to return to the real world. Gale would go where they needed him whether that be training soldiers in 2 or helping rebuild 12, and Madge would join her brother’s side proudly. But for now they could have this break, this time together.

“Hey,” Gale stopped her before they boarded. “I’ll follow you over any bridge we come to, Undersee,” he told her. “You know that, right?”

“I love you,” she responded with just as much conviction. Gale grinned, echoing his love with kisses. They boarded the hovercraft hand in hand feeling as though the world was theirs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for coming on this wild journey with me! Obviously this doesn't happen, but we can all live in pretend! Happy endings make me happy, even though there is no way the war would've ended like it did. I wanted to save everyone so I did and there's nothing you can to do stop me! I hope you enjoyed the story, I definitely loved writing it. Thanks to everyone who read! You guys are great!


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